Note 23 Unrealised foreign exchange losses

Unrealised foreign exchange losses amount to €1,305 million at 31 December 2019, principally reflecting:

• unrealised losses caused by currency movements (essentially by the US dollar and the pound sterling) amounting to €994 million at 31 December 2019 (€767 million at 31 December 2018) on liabilities and receivables in foreign currencies, and currency hedging instruments;
• the settlement in 2019 of internal currency derivatives with the subsidiary EDF International, through a payment of €311 million made by EDF during the period, while the hedged items (liabilities in foreign currencies) are still carried in the EDF SA balance sheet. In accordance with the national chart of accounts, in application of the symmetry principle set out in Article 628-11, realised gains and losses remain in unrealised foreign exchange losses and will be transferred to expenses over the residual life of the hedged item, symmetrically to the accounting treatment of gains and losses on the hedged items.
  
  

Note 24 Changes in equity

24.1 Share capital

EDF’s share capital amounted to €1,551,810,543 at 31 December 2019, comprising 3,103,621,086 fully subscribed and paid-up shares with nominal value of €0.50 each, owned 83.58% by the French State, 14.92% by the public (institutional and private investors), 1.34% by current and retired Group employees, and 0.16% held by EDF as treasury shares.

In June 2019, payment of the balance of the dividend for 2018 in the form of a scrip dividend led to a €20 million increase in the share capital and an issue premium of €431 million following the issuance of 40,701,950 new shares. The formalities for this operation were completed in June 2019.

In December 2019, payment of part of the interim dividend for 2019 in the form of a scrip dividend led to a €27 million increase in the share capital and an issue premium of €403 million following the issuance of 52,651,460 new shares.

Under Article L. 111-67 of the French Energy Code, the French State must hold more than 70% of the capital of EDF at all times.

24.2 Dividends

The General Shareholders’ Meeting of 16 May 2019 decided to distribute an ordinary dividend of €0.31 per share in respect of 2018, offering shareholders the choice of payment in cash or shares (scrip option).

In application of Article 24 of the Company’s articles of association, shareholders who had held their shares continuously for at least 2 years at the year-end and still held them at the dividend distribution date benefit from a 10% bonus on their dividends. The number of shares carrying an entitlement to the bonus dividend cannot exceed 0.5% of the Company’s capital per shareholder. The bonus dividend amounts to €0.341 per share.

As interim dividends of €0.15 per share had been paid in the form of cash on 10 December 2018, the balance payable for 2018 amounted to €0.16 per share benefiting from the ordinary dividend and €0.191 per share benefiting from the bonus dividend. The balance of the dividend was paid out on 18 June 2019.

The French government opted for the scrip dividend for the balance of 2018 dividends payable.

The balance of the cash dividend paid to shareholders who did not opt for the scrip dividend for 2018 amounted to €31 million.