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Annual Review



Activity Report of the Board in 2007
In 2007, the Board of Directors met six times. All directors were present at all of those meetings.

In 2007, the Board’s activities included, among others:

  • Regular closed sessions with and without the Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group
  • Two-day annual strategic session on key strategic issues and related follow-up discussions
  • Approval of the annual budget and the three-year financial plan
  • Regular business reviews
  • Review of forecasts
  • Review and approval of quarterly and annual financial statements
  • Adoption of the annual accounts including proposed allocation of profits and dividend proposal, the consolidated financial statements, Management’s Report on the annual accounts and the consolidated financial statements and the annual report
  • Approval of revenues and earnings press releases
  • Review and decision on possible acquisitions and divestitures
  • Review and decision on financing matters
  • Regular review and update on treasury matters
  • Reports of Committee Chairmen and decisions on Committee recommendations
  • Call and adoption of the agendas of the Extraordinary and Ordinary General Meetings
  • Nomination of Directors for renewal of their directors’ mandate and assessment of their independence
  • Appointment of management representatives in accordance with Article 22 of the Articles of Association

In 2007, the Board of Directors met six times. All directors were present at all of those meetings.

In 2007, the Board’s activities included, among others:
 

  • Regular closed sessions with and without the Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group
  • Two-day annual strategic session on key strategic issues and related follow-up discussions
  • Approval of the annual budget and the three-year financial plan
  • Regular business reviews
  • Review of forecasts
  • Review and approval of quarterly and annual financial statements
  • Adoption of the annual accounts including proposed allocation of profits and dividend proposal, the consolidated financial statements, Management’s Report on the annual accounts and the consolidated financial statements and the annual report
  • Approval of revenues and earnings press releases
  • Review and decision on possible acquisitions and divestitures
  • Review and decision on financing matters
  • Regular review and update on treasury matters
  • Reports of Committee Chairmen and decisions on Committee recommendations
  • Call and adoption of the agendas of the Extraordinary and Ordinary General Meetings
  • Nomination of Directors for renewal of their directors’ mandate and assessment of their independence
  • Appointment of management representatives in accordance with Article 22 of the Articles of Association

Activity Report of the Audit Committee in 2007
The activities of the Audit Committee in 2007 included, among others:

  • Review of financial statements and related revenues and earnings press releases
  • Review of the effect of regulatory and accounting initiatives and any off-balance sheet structures on the financial statements
  • Review of changes, as applicable, in accounting principles and valuation rules
  • Review of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comments to the 2006 annual report on Form 20-F and the Company’s responses
  • Review of the Internal Audit Plan
  • Review of Management’s Representation Letter
  • Review of the Audit Committee Charter Required Actions Checklist
  • Review of reports concerning the policy on complaints (SOX 301 Reports Policy/Sentinel Hotline)
  • Review of SOX 404 compliance plan for 2007
  • Review of General Counsel reports
  • Review and evaluation of the lead partner of the independent auditor
  • Holding separate closed sessions with the independent auditor and with the Company’s Chief Audit Officer
  • Review and approval of the Policy for Audit Committee Approval of Independent Auditor Services
  • Review of required communications from the independent auditor
  • Review and approve the Statutory Auditor’s global audit plan for 2007

Activity Report of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee in 2007
The activities of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee in 2007 included, among others:

  • Approval of benchmark parameters and related data for 2007 compensation review
  • Review of and recommendation for senior management compensation individually and review variable remuneration for other levels of management in the aggregate
  • Recommendation for Board approval of nominations and director’s compensation
  • Recommendation of approval of 2007 annual incentive bonus funding
  • Review of and recommendations on long term incentive programs
  • Recommendation on 2007 Board remuneration
  • Recommendation on renewal of director mandates and review of independence qualifications
  • Review of and recommendation on independence of Board members
  • Review of independence of outside compensation consultants and approval of retention of those consultants

Executive Management Compensation for 2007
For the year 2007, the aggregate amount of compensation, including contributions to pension plans, but excluding employer social security contributions and expense for share-based compensation, expensed by Delhaize Group and its subsidiaries for Executive Management as a group for services was EUR 12.7 million compared to EUR 11.0 million in 2006. Employer social security contributions and share-based compensation expense for the Executive Management in the aggregate are disclosed in Note 38 to the Financial Statements. An aggregate number of 144 598 Delhaize Group stock options/warrants and 26 760 restricted stock unit awards were granted to the Executive Management in 2007. Delhaize Group has not extended credit, arranged for the extension of credit or renewed an extension of credit in the form of a personal loan to or for any member of the Executive Management.

In line with the recommendation of the Belgian Code on Corporate Governance, the compensation and benefits granted by Delhaize Group and its subsidiaries individually to Mr. Pierre-Olivier Beckers, President and Chief Executive Officer, and in the aggregate to the nine other members of the Executive Management in 2007 is described in Note 38 to the Financial Statements, “Related Party Transactions”.

The Executive Managers also participate in the equity-linked component of the Company’s long-term incentive program. The aggregate numbers of Delhaize Group shares, stock options/warrants or other rights to acquire Delhaize Group shares granted by the Company and its subsidiaries during 2007 to the Chief Executive Officer and other Executive Managers are described individually in Note 38 to the Financial Statements, “Related Party Transactions” .

External Audit
The external audit of Delhaize Group SA is conducted by Deloitte Reviseurs d’Entreprises/Bedrijfsrevisoren, Registered Auditors, represented by Mr. Philip Maeyaert, until the Ordinary General Meeting in 2008.

Certification of Accounts 2007
In 2008, the Statutory Auditor has certified that the statutory annual accounts and the consolidated annual accounts of the Company, prepared in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements applicable in Belgium, for the year ended December 31, 2007 give a true and fair view of its assets, financial situation and results of operations. The Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the results of the Statutory Auditor’s audits of these accounts with the Statutory Auditor.

Statutory Auditor’s Fees for Services related to 2007
The following table sets forth the fees of the Statutory Auditor and its associated companies relating to the services with respect to fiscal year 2007 to Delhaize Group SA and its subsidiaries.

(in EUR) 2007
a. Statutory audit of Delhaize Group SA (1) 426 650
b. Legal audit of the consolidated financial statements (1) 207 800
Subtotal a,b : Fees as approved by the shareholders at the Ordinary General Meeting of May 24, 2007 634 450
c. Statutory audit of subsidiaries of Delhaize Group 1 786 203
Subtotal a,b,c: Statutory audit of the Group and subsidiaries 2 420 653
d. Audit of the 20-F (Annual Report filed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) 39 975
e. Other legally required services 24 930
Subtotal d, e 64 905
f. Consultation and other non-routine audit services 293 272
g. Tax services -
TOTAL 2 778 830

(1) Includes fees for limited audit reviews of quarterly and half-yearly financial information.

As a company that has securities registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Delhaize Group must provide (i) a management report on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, (ii) an attestation report from the Company’s Statutory Auditor on such management report and (iii) the Statutory Auditor’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, as described in Section 404 of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules implementing such act. This counts for a part of the Statutory Auditor’s fees for the “Statutory audit of Delhaize Group SA”, the “Statutory audit subsidiaries of Delhaize Group“ and the “Legal audit of the consolidated financial statements” in 2007.

The Audit Committee has monitored the independence of the Statutory Auditor under the Company’s pre-approval policy, setting forth strict procedures for the approval of non-audit services performed by the Statutory Auditor.

Extraordinary General Meeting of April 27, 2007
The Board called an Extraordinary General Meeting on April 27, 2007. Since the required quorum was not achieved, no decisions were taken during that meeting, and a second Extraordinary General Meeting, which was combined with the Ordinary General Meeting into a single meeting, was called with the same agenda on May 24, 2007.

Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting of May 24, 2007
The Ordinary General Meeting is held annually at the call of the Board of Directors. The Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting of 2007 was held on May 24, 2007. During the Ordinary General Meeting portion of the meeting, the Company’s management presented the Management Report, the report of the statutory auditor and the consolidated annual accounts. The Ordinary General Meeting then approved the non-consolidated annual accounts of fiscal year 2006 and discharged the Company’s directors and the Statutory Auditor of liability for their mandate during 2006. The Ordinary General Meeting decided to renew the director’s mandate of Count Goblet d’Alviella, Mr. Robert J. Murray and Dr. William Roper. The Ordinary General Meeting appointed Count Goblet d’Alviella, Mr. Murray and Dr. Roper as independent directors under the Belgian Company Code. Additionally, the Ordinary General Meeting approved (i) an early redemption of bonds upon a change of control of the Company, (ii) an amendment to the Delhaize Group 2002 Stock Incentive Plan, (iii) the Delhaize Group 2007 Stock Option Plan for associates of non-US companies with respect to equity awards that could be granted to Executive Management and (iv) the accelerated vesting of stock options to be granted under those plans upon a change of control over the Company.

During the Extraordinary General Meeting portion of the meeting, the shareholders renewed the power of the Board of Directors to increase the share capital of Delhaize Group and to repurchase its own shares and approved the progressive conversion of Delhaize Group ordinary shares in bearer form to dematerialized form and the means of voting in writing at shareholder meetings. The minutes of the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting of May 24, 2007, including the voting results, are available on the Company’s website together with all other relevant documents.

 
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