FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION: FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICES - 2019 EDITION

129 1  z CALENDAR AND ORGANISATION FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION CALENDAR The financial communication calendar is governed by regulatory disclosure deadlines (see Part 2, Section 1) and is also determined by the ability of a company’s information systems to provide data that are accurate, true and fair within that time frame. Over the last decade, the reporting of annual and half-yearly results has accelerated, resulting in a concentration of publications within increasingly tight periods, usually before the end of the month following the end of the quarter or half-year period. Nonetheless, many companies still do not have a consolidation process allowing them to provide results as rapidly as required. As of January 1, 2015, the regulatory disclosure obligations for listed companies have been eased following the French legal transposition of the Transparency Directive, which was revised in 2013. The regulatory deadline for the disclosure of quarterly financial information no later than 45 days following the end of the first and third quarters has been dispensed with and the legal deadline for the disclosure of half-year results has been extended to three months after the end of the first half. Beyond the legal requirements, the AMF has issued recommendations on the disclosure of quarterly financial information and the disclosure of annual sales figures 176 . Example of a financial communication calendar based on deadlines for a reporting year ending December 31 Information Deadline Q4 (optional) and full-year sales EndofFebruary Annual results April 30 Q1 financial information (optional) May 15 Annual shareholders’ meeting June 30 Q2 and H1 sales (optional) August 15 H1 results September 30 Q3 financial information (optional) November 15 The calendar may also state the start and end dates for the quiet period. This calendar may be adapted in accordance with other factors including the: n scheduling needs of the company’s management, analysts and the publication dates of other issuers, in particular those in the same industry; n constraints imposed by time of day or other scheduling constraints (market opening times, media deadlines, bank holidays in a foreign country, etc.); n simultaneity with other events organised by the company or in which it is participating (trade shows, conventions, etc.); 176 – AMF Position/ Recommendation no. 2016-05 – Guide to periodic disclosures by companies listed on a regulated market (sections 4 and 5).