2020 was the last year of implementation of Orange.one strategy. I have no doubts it was a great success. We proved that constant declines of key financial metrics are not necessarily fatal, and we delivered a turnaround. The key enablers to this strategy were fibre, commercial strategy based on value, growth in ICT and big efficiency gains. We managed to diminish and offset the burden of legacy businesses, transforming Orange Polska into a modern digital telco. Based on these already strong fundamentals, it’s time to refocus on profitable growth of revenues, rather than cost savings, as our primary driver of growth. I am convinced that this will be addressed by the new strategy that will soon be announced and implemented under our new CEO, Julien Ducarroz.
The pandemic showed that fast and reliable connectivity has become more essential than ever to the needs of consumers and businesses. It particularly validated the investments in network quality that have always been at the centre of our strategy. The proof of this statement is the jointventure project Światłowód Inwestycje that Orange Polska has recently announced in the partnership with APG.
On the one hand, it allows the Company to continue to explore market potential independent of Orange Polska’s balance sheet; on the other, to obtain significant proceeds that will support the Company’s future strategy. The Supervisory Board has been very enthusiastic about this endeavour.
During the last financial year, the Supervisory Board was involved in all decisions of fundamental significance for Orange Polska. We monitored the Management Board’s governance in managing the business to ensure that these activities were lawful and compliant with legal provisions and internal standards and policies, as well as appropriate and efficient. At each meeting, the Supervisory Board discussed in detail the Company’s current financial and operational results in comparison to the budget adopted at the beginning of the year. More details of the Supervisory Board’s assessment of Orange Polska are presented further in this chapter.
The frequency of the Supervisory Board and its committees’ meetings mean that we are in close contact with the Management Board. In 2020, six Supervisory Board meetings and 14 meetings of the Supervisory Board’s committees took place, with an average participation rate of 96.3%. Written votes were used on four occasions when resolutions were required between meetings. To adjust to limitations imposed by the pandemic we have enabled shareholders to participate and vote during the General Meeting in a fully remote way.
Looking forward to 2021, in the opinion of Supervisory Board, the key strategic tasks for the management include execution of the Światłowód Inwestycje partnership, obtaining 5G spectrum, and design and announcement of the new strategy covering 2021-2024.
I am convinced that Orange Polska’s strong fundamentals and the prudent actions of the Management Board supported by the Supervisory Board will enable the Company to sustain
momentum in financial performance, and that in due course this success will be shared with shareholders in the form of dividends.
