Other information
Research and development activities
Reply offers high technology services and solutions in a market where innovation is of primary importance.
Reply considers research and continuous innovation a fundamental asset in supporting clients with the adoption of new technology.
Reply dedicates resources to Research and Development activities in order to project and define highly innovative products and services as well as possible applications of evolving technologies. In this context, Reply has developed of its own platforms.
Reply has important partnerships with major global vendors so as to offer the most suitable solutions to different company needs. Specifically, Reply boasts the highest level of certification amongst the technology leaders in the Enterprise sector.
Human resources
Human resources constitute a primary asset for Reply which bases its strategy on the quality of products and services and places continuous attention on the growth of personnel and in-depth examination of professional necessities with consequent definitions of needs and training courses.
The Reply Group is comprised of professionals originating from the best universities and polytechnics. The Group intends to continue investing in human resources by bonding special relations and collaboration with major universities with the scope of attracting highly qualified personnel.
The people who work at Reply are characterized by enthusiasm, expertise, methodology, team spirit, initiative, the capability of understanding the context they work in and of clearly communicating the solutions proposed. The capability of imagining, experimenting and studying new solutions enables more rapid and efficient innovation.
The group intends to maintain these distinctive features by increasing investments in training and collaboration with universities.
At the end of 2018 the Group had 7,606 employees compared to 6,456 in 2017.
GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR)
The governance model of the Group privacy policy reflects what is required by the existing code for the protection of personal data and the European Regulation 679/16 (GDPR).
Privacy fulfilments are managed uniformly at the Reply Group level in order to maintain adequate levels of internal coherence and to facilitate external relations, in particular with authorities, customers and suppliers.
To ensure compliance in 2018 a GDPR program was implemented, which provided several activities including:
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updating the Group privacy organizational model;
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designation for each Region of a Data Protection Officer;
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GDPR training at all business levels;
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assessment of privacy and security of IT central services;
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drafting of Records of the treatment activities; development and dissemination of new processes.
Transactions with related parties and Group companies
During the period, there were no transactions with related parties, including intergroup transactions, which qualified as unusual or atypical. Any related party transactions formed part of the normal business activities of companies in the Group. Such transactions are concluded at standard market terms for the nature of goods and/or services offered.
The company in the notes to the financial statements and consolidated financial statements provides the information required pursuant to Art. 154-ter of the TUF [Consolidated Financial Act] as indicated by Consob Reg. no. 17221 of 12 March 2010, indicating that there were no significant transactions concluded during the period.
Information on transactions with related parties as per Consob communication of 28 July 2006 is disclosed at the Note to the Consolidated financial statements and Notes to the financial statements.
Treasury shares
At the balance sheet date, the Parent Company holds 4,028 treasury shares amounting to 24,502 Euros, nominal value equal to 524 Euros. At the balance sheet item net equity, the company has posted an unavailable reserve for the same amount.
At the balance sheet date, the Company does not hold shares of other holding companies.
Financial instruments
In relation to the use of financial instruments, the company has adopted a policy for risk management through the use of financial derivatives, with the scope of reducing the exposure to interest rate risks on financial loans.
Such financial instruments are considered as hedging instruments as they can be traced to the object being hedged (in terms of amount and expiry date).
In the notes to the financial statements more detail is provided to the above operations.
EVENTS SUBSEQUENT TO 31 DECEMBER 2018
At the beginning of January 2019 Reply AG acquired Neveling.net GmbH, a company incorporated under the German law of which Reply AG holds 100% of share capital, specializing in content-management systems activities based on sitecore technologies.
OUTLOOK ON OPERATIONS
Reply in the past years has built a solid group, recognized on the market to be a leader not only on technology, but also on the main processes of change that companies are introducing to compete in increasingly global scenarios, characterized by continuous interactions and exchanges between the physical world and the virtual world.
Reply's great competences on the main industrial and commercial sectors allow, in fact, to quickly transform technology in innovation relevant to the customers, supporting them in continuous research of new competitiveness that the markets today are imposing.
An era begins in which many current competitive scenarios are redefined. The process of far-reaching automation, triggered by the interaction of cloud, big data, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, influences every industry.
In everyday life, we are supported by increasingly intelligent machines and systems, along with ecosystems based on human-robot collaboration; a new reality is emerging that includes the Inter-net, smart devices, 3D technology and virtual environments.
The upcoming future is overflowing with opportunities, and this allows the Group to look at the future months with reasonable optimism and serenity.
MOTION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT AND ALLOCATION OF THE RESULT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR
The financial statements at year end 2018 of Reply S.p.A. prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), recorded a net income amounting to 63,579,674 Euros and net shareholders’ equity on 31 December 2018 amounted to 341,263,668 Euros thus formed:
The Board of Directors in submitting to the Shareholders the approval of the financial statements (Separate Statements) as at 31 December 2018 showing a net result of 63,579,674 Euros, proposes that the shareholders resolve:
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to approve the financial statement (Separate Statements) of Reply S.p.A. which records net profit for the financial year of 63,579,674 Euros;
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to approve the motion to allocate the net result of 63,579,674 as follows:
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a unit dividend to shareholders amounting to 0,45 Euros for each ordinary share with a right, therefore excluding treasury shares, with payment date fixed on 8 May 2018, coupon cutoff date 6 May 2019 and record date, determined in accordance with Article 83-terdecies of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998 set on 7 May 2019;
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approving the proposal of attribution to Directors entrusted with operative positions as regards a shareholding in the profits of the Parent Company in accordance with Article 22 of the articles of association, to be established for an overall amount of 3,100,000.00 Euros, corresponding to around 2.1% of the consolidated gross operative margin 2018, (before allocation of the shareholding in profits for Directors invested with operative positions) calculated at 147,936 thousand Euros, which will be paid taking into account the related reserve funds in the financial statement in compliance with that foreseen in the main IAS/FRS international accounts, ratifying as the related allocation in the statement requires.
Turin, 14 March 2019
For the Board of Directors
The Chairman
Mario Rizzante