Annual Report 2021

28. Share-based Payments

Options on participation certificates of Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG are only outstanding within the scope of the existing employee stock option program. An option entitles an employee to a participation certificate at an exercise price, equal to the average of the price of the five days preceding the issue date. The options have a blocking period during the vesting period of three to five years and are expiring after seven years, if not being exercised. Changes in outstanding options can be viewed in the table below:

 

 

2021

 

2020

 

 

Number of options

 

Weighted average exercise price (CHF/PC)

 

Number of options

 

Weighted average exercise price (CHF/PC)

Outstanding options as at January 1

 

109,649

 

6,181

 

103,686

 

5,503

New option rights

 

28,980

 

7,918

 

27,070

 

7,904

Exercised rights

 

– 22,418

 

5,382

 

– 18,120

 

4,909

Cancelled rights

 

– 4,055

 

6,993

 

– 2,987

 

5,974

Outstanding options as at December 311

 

112,156

 

6,760

 

109,649

 

6,181

of which exercisable at December 31

 

15,955

 

5,499

 

16,313

 

5,249

Average remaining time to expiration (in days)

 

680

 

 

 

759

 

 

1

The exercise price varies between CHF 4,811 to CHF 7,918 as of December 31, 2021.

Options expenses are charged to the income statement proportionally according to the vesting period. The recorded expenses amount to CHF 14.8 million (CHF 15.5 million in prior year). Moreover, CHF 14.0 million deferred tax benefits on employee stock options in the USA were recorded directly in equity (CHF 4.7 million in prior year).

The assumptions used to calculate the expenses for the grants 2018 to 2021 are listed in the following table:

Date of issue

 

29.1.2021

 

15.1.2020

 

16.1.2019

 

30.1.2018

Number of issued options

 

28,980

 

27,070

 

26,510

 

26,070

of which in bracket A (blocking period 3 years)

 

10,062

 

9,392

 

9,205

 

9,111

of which in bracket B (blocking period 4 years)

 

10,203

 

9,534

 

9,330

 

9,146

of which in bracket C (blocking period 5 years)

 

8,715

 

8,144

 

7,975

 

7,813

Issuing price (CHF)

 

7,918

 

7,904

 

5,936

 

5,794

Price of participation certificates on date of issue (CHF)

 

7,730

 

8,010

 

5,820

 

5,755

Value of options on issuing date (CHF)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bracket A (blocking period 3 years)

 

519

 

651

 

562

 

719

Bracket B (blocking period 4 years)

 

571

 

680

 

615

 

780

Bracket C (blocking period 5 years)

 

613

 

712

 

663

 

831

Maximum life span (in years)

 

7

 

7

 

7

 

7

Form of compensation

 

PC from conditional capital

Expected life span (in years)

 

5–6

 

5–6

 

5–6

 

5–6

Expected rate of retirement per year

 

2.5%

 

2.3%

 

2.2%

 

2.1%

Expected volatility

 

14.9%

 

14.6%

 

18.3%

 

20.5%

Expected dividend yield

 

1.60%

 

1.65%

 

1.68%

 

1.66%

Risk-free interest rate

 

(0.55) – (0.46)%

 

(0.46) – (0.38)%

 

(0.27) – (0.11)%

 

0.03 – 0.17%

Model

 

Binomial model