Table of Contents

​

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 7, 2021

​

​

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

​

 FORM 20-F

 ☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(B) OR (G) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,

OR

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________ to _________

OR

☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of the event requiring this shell company report_______________________

​

000-29374

(Commission file number)

​

EDAP TMS S.A.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

France

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

​

Parc d’Activites la Poudrette-Lamartine

4/6, rue du Dauphiné

69120 Vaulx-en-Velin, France

(Address of principal executive offices)

Ms. Blandine Confort -Tel. +33 4 72 15 31 50, E-mail: bconfort@edap-tms.com

Parc d’Activites la Poudrette-Lamartine, 4/6, rue du Dauphiné, 69120 Vaulx-en-Velin, France

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and Address of Company Contact Person)

​

 Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

​

 Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

​

 Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None

​

 Outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of December 31, 2020: 29,165,316 Ordinary Shares

​

 Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes __         No_X

​

 If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes __        No _X

​

Table of Contents

 Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.Yes _X          No __

​

 Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter ) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).Yes _X          No __

​

This filing includes an auditor attestation to our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting Yes _X          No __

​

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

​

Large accelerated filer __        Accelerated filer _X         Non-accelerated filer __        Emerging growth company __

​

 If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. __

​

 † The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

​

 U.S. GAAP _X         International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board __        Other __

​

 If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question indicate by check mark which financial statement item, the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 __       Item 18 __

​

 If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).Yes __       No _X

​

​

​

​

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

​

​

​

​

​

3

Table of Contents

[THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

​

4

Table of Contents

​

PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION

Unless the context otherwise requires, references herein to “we,” “us,” “our” or “group” are to EDAP TMS S.A. and its consolidated subsidiaries and references herein to the “Company,” “EDAP” or “EDAP TMS” are to EDAP TMS S.A.

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (‘‘U.S. GAAP’’). In this annual report, references to ‘‘euro’’ or ‘‘€’’ are to the legal currency of the countries of the European Monetary Union, including the Republic of France, and references to ‘‘dollars,’’ ‘‘U.S. dollars’’ or ‘‘$’’ are to the legal currency of the United States of America. Solely for the convenience of the reader, this annual report contains translations of certain euro amounts into dollars at specified rates. These translations should not be construed as representations that the euro amounts actually represent such dollar amounts or could be converted into dollars at those rates. See Item 11, ‘‘Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk’’ for a discussion of the effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates on the Company.

The following are registered trademarks of the Company in the United States: EDAP^®, Ablatherm^®, Ablasonic^®, Ablapak^®, Focal.One^®. This annual report also makes references to trade names and trademarks of companies other than the Company.

​

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This annual report includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) or Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), which may be identified by words such as ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ “should,” ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘expect’’ and ‘‘anticipate’’ or similar expressions, which reflect our views about future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties including matters not yet known to us or not currently considered material by us. Actual events or results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors that may be beyond our control. Factors that could affect future results or cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

​

​

​

You should also consider the information contained in Item 3, ‘‘Key Information—Risk Factors’’ and Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,’’ or further discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences to occur. Forward-

5

Table of Contents

looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Other than required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to update them in light of new information or future developments.

​

6

Table of Contents

​

RISK FACTORS

In addition to the other information contained in this annual report, the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating us and our business. These statements are intended to highlight the material risk factors that may cause actual financial, business, research or operating results to differ materially from expectations disclosed in this annual report. See also factors disclosed under “Cautionary statement on forward-looking information”.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Worldwide contagious, epidemic diseases may impact our international activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Epidemic, contagious and even pandemic diseases, such as the current COVID-19 virus, is expected to impact the development of our business worldwide. Since the occurrence in 2020 of the COVID-19 virus which represented a new challenge to us, we have taken steps to require the majority of our employees to work remotely, maintain minimum supply chain and development activity and curtail most business travels. These measures are still in place as of the date of filing. During 2020, we also (i) implemented partial unemployment, (ii) temporarily closed certain sites and (iii) used certain mechanisms to limit the impact on cash flow (such as deferral of social security or tax payments, deferral of lease payments). The pandemic has resulted in further postponement and/or cancelation of the sale and installation of new devices and disposables in hospitals or clinics as investment decisions are put on hold or their resources are refocused on COVID-19. These occurrences could also prevent us from servicing our installed base of devices and we have experienced cancellations of treatments in certain circumstances, which had some impact on our recurring business. We may continue to experience further postponements, cancellation of sales or significant reduction in the demand for our products, as hospitals and clinics are diverting their priorities towards handling the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, the pandemic could also result in the postponement of clinical trials using our devices and may continue to impact the performance of clinical trials and recruitment of patients. Such outbreak of a contagious disease has also negatively affected hospital admission rates and disrupted our global business,

7

Table of Contents

and it may continue to negatively impact our activities, including our ability to manufacture and distribute our devices, for example due to potential quarantine measures. Although we are constantly monitoring the impact across our businesses of the coronavirus pandemic which already caused disruption of our activities in 2020, the severity of the operational and financial impact will depend on how long and widespread the disruption lasts. Furthermore, worldwide economies and capital markets have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact may cause an extended local and/or global economic recession. Such economic disruption could have a material adverse effect on our business as clinics and hospitals curtail and reduce capital and overall expenditures. Finally, we cannot predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our customers, suppliers and other business partners, and the financial conditions of these actors; however, any material effect on these parties could adversely impact us. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this section, any of which could have a material effect on us. As of the date of filing of this report, the global economy remains heavily impacted by the outbreak of the coronavirus and the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may materially adversely affect the Company’s financial condition, liquidity, or results of operations is uncertain. We believe that the recently emerged variants of the COVID-19 are not likely to modify the risks as described above.

We have a history of operating losses and although we achieved profitability in 2019, it is uncertain whether we can maintain profitability in the future.

Although we achieved operational profitability in 2019, we have incurred operating losses in 2020, 2018 and 2017 and in each previous fiscal year prior to 2015, since 1998. We expect that our marketing, selling and research and development expenses will increase as we attempt to further develop and commercialize our HIFU devices. We may not, however, generate a sufficient level of revenue to offset these expenses and may not be able to adjust spending in a timely manner to respond to any unanticipated decline in revenue. We cannot guarantee that we will realize sufficient revenue to sustain profitability in the future. See Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.’’

Our future revenue growth and income depend, among other things, on the success of our HIFU technology.

We depend on the success of our HIFU technology for future revenue growth and net income. In particular, we are dependent on the successful development and commercialization of other product lines, such as medical devices based on HIFU but not limited to the Focal One, to generate significant additional revenues, achieve, and sustain profitability in the future.

Although we are particularly dependent on the success of our HIFU technology to grow our business through our   HIFU (“HIFU”) division, other revenues, generated by our Extracorporeal ShockWave Lithotripsy (“ESWL”) division and our Distribution (“Distribution”) division directly linked to the distribution of other complementary products on behalf of third party medical companies, continue to increase significantly and contribute to our revenue growth. While we believe that our Distribution division can successfully pursue the marketing of its worldwide distribution platform, any termination of distribution commitments from such medical third parties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. See Item 4, “Information on the Company—Distribution Division—Distribution Division Sales and Distribution of Products.”

We utilize distributors for our sales abroad, which subjects us to a number of risks that could harm our business.

We have developed strategic relationships with a number of distributors for sales and service of our devices in certain foreign countries where we are not directly represented by a subsidiary. If these relationships are terminated and not replaced, our revenues and/or ability to market or service our devices in the related territories could be adversely affected. Our distributors’ actions may affect our ability to effectively market our devices in certain foreign countries if, for example, a distributor holds the regulatory authorizations in such countries and causes, by action or inaction, the suspension of such regulatory authorizations or sanctions for non-compliance. It may be difficult, expensive, and time consuming for us to re-establish reputation, market access or regulatory compliance in such case. Moreover, our distributors must be in compliance with anti-corruption laws, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other local laws prohibiting corrupt payments to governmental officials or to customers and we may not be able to trace or be kept informed of such corruption. In addition, we may be named as a defendant in lawsuits against our distributors related to sales or service of our devices performed by these distributors. See our risk factor below: “We face a significant risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products results in personal injury or death.”

New device developments and introductions may adversely impact our financial results.

From time to time, we develop and introduce new devices with enhanced features and extended capabilities, targeting new clinical applications or improving existing approaches. The success of new device introductions depends on a number of factors including, but not limited to, timely and successful research and development, receipt of regulatory clearances or approvals, pricing, competition, market and consumer acceptance, manufacturing and supply costs, and the risk that new devices may have quality or other defects.

8

Table of Contents

We invest in various research and development projects to expand our product offerings. Our research and development efforts are critical to our success, and our research and development projects may not be successful. We may be unable to develop and market new products successfully, and the products we invest in and develop may not be well received by customers or meet our expectations. Our research and development investments may not generate significant operating income or contribute to our future operating results for several years, and such contributions may not meet our expectations or even cover the costs of such investments.

If we fail to effectively develop new products, obtain regulatory clearances or approval and manage new product introductions in the future, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows could be materially and adversely impacted.

We operate in a highly regulated industry and our future success depends on obtaining and maintaining government regulatory approval of our products, which we may not receive or be able to maintain or which may be delayed for a significant period of time.

Government regulation significantly impacts the development and marketing of our products, particularly in the United States, EU and Japan. We are regulated in each of our major markets with respect to preclinical and clinical testing, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, sale, marketing, advertising and promotion of our products. To market and sell products, we are required to obtain approval or clearance from the relevant regulatory agencies, including the FDA with respect to the United States. The process of applying for regulatory approval or clearance is often lengthy and requires the expenditure of substantial resources. Further, there can be no assurance that we will receive the required approvals or clearance for our products from the required regulatory authorities or, if we do receive the required approvals, that we will receive them on a timely basis, on the conditions and for the indications we seek, or that we will otherwise be able to satisfy the conditions of such approval, if any.

The regulatory agencies may not act favorably or quickly in their review of our submissions, or we may encounter significant difficulties in our efforts to obtain their clearance or approval, or to maintain our existing approvals, all of which could delay or preclude the sale of new or existing products in the related territories. In the European Union, the regulation of medical devices is being updated by the European Medical Device Regulation (“MDR”) effective as of May 26, 2021, following the expiration of the four-year transition period, imposing stricter requirements on the conformity assessment and the commercialization of our products. An MDR compliance action plan is currently being performed in preparation of MDR enforcement within the expected timelines. We are implementing regulatory actions to ensure our devices may be distributed on the European and international market after May 2021.

Even if regulatory approval to market a product is granted, it may include limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed. Failure to comply with regulatory requirements can result in fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions. Regulatory policy may change and additional government regulations may be established that could prevent or delay regulatory approval of our products. Any delay, failure to receive regulatory approval or the loss of previously received approvals could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. For more information on the regulation of our business, see Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—Government Regulation’’ and “Information on the Company—HIFU Division—HIFU Division Clinical and Regulatory Status.”

Moreover, we may also be required to abandon previous strategies for regulatory approval or clearance, despite having made significant financial and time investments, or refocus our efforts on alternative regulatory strategies, resulting in increased costs and efforts of management, without any guarantee of success, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our manufacturing operations must comply with regulations established by regulatory agencies in the United States, the European Union and other countries, and in particular with the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (‘‘CGMP’’) and other standards for quality assurance and manufacturing process control under applicable regulatory authorities. Since such standards may change, we may not, at all times, comply with all applicable standards and, as a result would be unable to manufacture our products for commercial sale or for clinical trial supply. Our manufacturing facilities are subject to inspection by regulatory authorities at any time. If any inspection by the regulatory authorities reveals deficiencies in manufacturing, we could be required to take immediate remedial actions, suspend production or close the current and future production facilities, which would disrupt our manufacturing processes. Accordingly, failure to comply with these regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Finally, changes to regulatory policies or the adoption of additional statutes or regulations that affect our business could impose substantial additional costs or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

9

Table of Contents

Our clinical trials related to products using HIFU technology may not be successful and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals necessary for commercialization of all of our HIFU products.

Before obtaining regulatory approvals or clearance for the commercial sale of any of our devices under development, we must demonstrate through preclinical testing and clinical trials that the device is safe and effective for use in each indication. Product development, including pre-clinical studies and clinical trials is a long, expensive and uncertain process, and is subject to delays and failures at any stage. We or the relevant regulatory authorities may suspend or terminate clinical trials at any time and regulating agencies may even refuse to grant exemptions to pursue clinical trials. The results from preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not predict the results that will be obtained in large-scale clinical trials. Companies can suffer significant setbacks in later-stage clinical trials, even after promising results in earlier trials. Furthermore, data obtained from a trial can be insufficient to demonstrate that our products are safe, effective, and marketable. The commencement, continuation or completion of any of our clinical trials may be delayed or halted, or inadequate to support approval of an application to regulatory authorities for numerous reasons including, but not limited to:

​

The data we collect from our current clinical trials, our preclinical studies and other clinical trials may not be sufficient to support requested regulatory approval. Additionally, certain regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of the data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials, or may find the clinical trial design, conduct or results inadequate to prove safety or efficacy, and may require us to pursue additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, which would increase costs and could further delay the approval of our products. If we are unable to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our products in our clinical trials, we will be unable to obtain regulatory approval to market our products.

Our robotic HIFU devices that have not received regulatory approval may not prove to be effective or safe in clinical trials or may not be approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities. If our HIFU devices do not prove to be effective and safe in clinical trials to the satisfaction of the relevant regulatory authorities, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The commercial success of our products depends on whether procedures performed by those products are eligible for reimbursement approved by national health authorities and third-party payers.

Our success depends, among other things, on the extent to which reimbursement can be obtained from healthcare payers for procedures performed with our products. In the United States, we are dependent upon favorable coverage and benefit decisions by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Medicare reimbursement, state Medicaid agencies, individual managed care organizations, private insurers and other payers. With the support of the American Urological Association, and the American Association of Clinical Urologists, the American Medical Association (AMA) established a new Category 1 CPT code for the ablation of malignant prostate tissue with HIFU technology, effective January 1, 2021. In late 2020, CMS published its final rules for ambulatory payment classification (APC) procedures and physician fee schedule established reimbursement rates that recognize both facility or hospital payment and physician professional service payments for HIFU procedures. For private insurers, policy coverage decisions supporting coverage and reimbursement related to HIFU procedures are limited given that HIFU is a new technology. To further support and raise awareness as to the use of HIFU as an alternative to more traditional treatments, we engaged Medical Technology Partners (MTP) and Argenta Advisors, two leading reimbursement consultancies, to assist in navigating reimbursement analysis and strategies, including technology feasibility and assessment needs, payor advisory panels, outcome studies and understanding manufacturer billing education resources. With expanded third party coverage decisions, our Focal One HIFU procedure will have broader market access in the United States. However, public or private payors may decide to limit coverage or reimbursement of HIFU technologies that are available to individuals, including potentially modifying existing guidance to further limit available coverage. Changes to coverage decisions, which may be revised from time to time, could negatively impact reimbursement for procedures performed using our devices and may result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations. Outside the United States, and in particular in the European Union and Japan, third-party reimbursement is generally conditioned upon decisions by national health authorities and

10

Table of Contents

we cannot guarantee that a definitive reimbursement will be granted. See Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company——HIFU Division—HIFU Reimbursement Status.”

Lithotripsy procedures currently are reimbursed by public healthcare systems in the European Union, in Japan and in the United States. However, a decision in any of those countries to modify reimbursement policies for these procedures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations. For example, in April 2016, the Japanese authorities decided to stop reimbursing lithotripters’ disposables (electrodes) necessary to perform a lithotripsy procedure. This decision had and will have a material effect on our current and future sales of lithotripsy disposables in Japan.

We cannot assure investors that expanded coverage decisions or additional reimbursement approvals will be obtained in the near future. If payor coverage or reimbursement for procedures related to our products is unavailable, limited in scope or amount, or if certain levels of public or private payor reimbursement or coverage policies change, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

HIFU technology may not be adopted by the medical community and may never become a standard of care.

Our robotic HIFU devices represent new therapies for the conditions that they are designed to treat. Notwithstanding any positive clinical results that our HIFU devices may have achieved or may achieve in the future in terms of safety and efficacy and any marketing approvals that we have obtained or may obtain in the future, there can be no assurance that such products will gain adoption by the medical community. Physician adoption depends, among other things, on evidence of the cost effectiveness of a therapy as compared to existing therapies and on adequate coverage policies supporting reimbursement from healthcare payers. Furthermore, acceptance by patients depends in part on physician recommendations, as well as other factors, including the degree of invasiveness, the rate and severity of complications and other side effects associated with the therapy as compared to other therapies.

If our robotic HIFU devices do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, patients, health care payers and the medical community and never become a standard of care, we may not generate or maintain positive cash flows and we may not become profitable or be able to sustain profitability. If we do achieve market acceptance of our products, we may not be able to sustain it or otherwise achieve it to a degree which would support the ongoing viability of our operations.

Our cash flow is highly dependent on cyclical demand for our products.

Our cash flow has historically been subject to significant fluctuations over the course of any given financial year due to cyclical demand for medical devices, and the resulting annual and quarterly fluctuations in trade and other receivables and inventories. This has in the past resulted in significant variations in working capital requirements and operating cash flows. Since we anticipate relying on cash flow from operating activities to meet our liquidity requirements, a decrease in the demand for our products, or the inability of our customers or distributors to meet their financial obligations to us, would reduce the funds available to us. In the future, our liquidity may be constrained and our cash flows may be uncertain, negative or significantly different from period to period. Our future cash flow will be affected by increased expenses in clinical trials, sales efforts and other market costs related to implementing our expanded U.S. and global strategy following the FDA clearance of Focal One and CMS CPT code which will require significant additional resources. However, there is no assurance that this will result in an increase in the demand for our products and services. Our future cash flow may also be affected by the decrease in revenues directly linked to delay and postponing of treatments and sales projects due to COVID-19 crisis and to the management by EDAP of the COVID-19 situation.

Competition in the markets in which we operate is intense and is expected to increase in the future.

Competition in the markets in which we operate is intense and is expected to increase in the future. In each of our main businesses, we face competition both directly from other manufacturers of medical devices that apply the same technologies that we use, as well as indirectly from existing or emerging therapies for the treatment of urological disorders.

In the markets that we target for our robotic HIFU products, competition comes from new market entrants and alternative therapies, as well as from current manufacturers of robotic medical devices. In the HIFU market, our devices, in particular the Ablatherm and the Focal One, compete with all current treatments for localized tumors, including surgery, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy and cryotherapy. See Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—HIFU Division— HIFU Competition’’ and Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—ESWL Division.’’

Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, research, marketing, sales, distribution and other resources than we have and may have more experience in developing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting new medical devices. In addition, our future success will depend in large part on our ability to maintain a leading position in technological innovation, and we

11

Table of Contents

cannot assure investors that we will be able to develop new products or enhance our current ones to compete successfully with new or existing technologies. Rapid technological development by competitors may result in our products becoming obsolete before we recover a significant portion of the research, development and commercialization expenses incurred with respect to those products.

We also face competition for our maintenance and service contracts. Larger hospitals often utilize their in-house maintenance departments instead of contracting with equipment manufacturers like us to maintain and repair their medical equipment. In addition, third-party medical equipment maintenance companies increasingly compete with equipment manufacturers by offering broad repair and maintenance service contracts to hospitals and clinics. This increased competition for medical devices and maintenance and service contracts could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on a single site to manufacture our products, and any interruption of operations could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Most of our manufacturing currently takes place in a single facility located in Vaulx-en-Velin, on the outskirts of Lyon, France. In the event of a significant interruption in the operations of our sole facility for any reason, such as fire, flood or other natural disaster or pandemic diseases such the COVID-19 virus necessitating quarantine implementation or a failure to obtain or maintain required regulatory approvals, we would have no other means of manufacturing our products until we were able to restore the manufacturing capabilities at our facility or develop alternative facilities, which could take considerable time and resources and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Since mid-March 2020, we have taken the previously announced steps of requiring the majority of our employees to work remotely, maintaining minimum supply chain activity and curtailing most business travel. If we are unable to manufacture a sufficient or consistent supply of our products or products we are developing, or if we cannot do so efficiently, our revenue, business and financial prospects would be adversely affected.

For certain components or services, we depend on a single supplier who, due to events beyond our control may fail to deliver sufficient supplies to us or increase the cost of items supplied, which would interrupt our production processes or negatively impact our results of operations.

We purchase the majority of the components used in our products from a number of suppliers, but rely on a single supplier for some key components. In addition, we rely on single suppliers for certain services. If the supply of these components or services were interrupted for any reason, including COVID-19 pandemic and implied restrictions, our manufacturing and marketing of the affected products would be delayed. These delays could be extensive, especially in situations where a component substitution would require regulatory approval. In addition, such suppliers could decide unilaterally to increase the price of supplied items and therefore cause additional charges for the Company. We expect to continue to depend upon our suppliers for the foreseeable future. Failure to obtain adequate supplies of components or services in a timely manner and at the agreed price could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may have difficulties in attracting and recruiting highly qualified experts in software, design and development of high technology devices such as our HIFU and ESWL products

Our devices require highly qualified individuals as well as high-level of expertise and experience in design, software, mechanics and electronics. We are highly dependent on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and engineers to develop our devices. In addition, the learning curve required to master our systems is lengthy and, if we do not find qualified experts and engineers, we may not be able to meet our development schedule and obtain market approval in due time, which in time may delay market introduction of new products. Failure to recruit and attract experts in a timely manner may have a material adverse effect on our development, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Intellectual property rights are essential to protect our medical devices, and any dispute with respect to these rights could be costly and have an uncertain outcome.

Our success depends in large part on our ability to develop proprietary products and technologies and to establish and protect the related intellectual property rights, without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties. The validity and scope of claims covered in medical technology patents involve complex legal and factual questions and, therefore, the outcome of such claims may be highly uncertain. The medical device industry has been characterized by extensive patents and other intellectual property rights litigation. We may receive letters from third parties drawing our attention to their patent rights, or patent grant contestations may be filed. Third parties also may challenge our patents before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad. Such mechanisms include re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, interference proceedings, derivation proceedings, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in the revocation or cancellation of or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover our product candidates or provide any competitive advantage. For example, a patent

12

Table of Contents

granted to us by the European Patent Office (“EPO”), covering Visiotrack technology for lithotripsy products (patent EP 2340781), has been opposed by Storz Medical. The opposition was rejected by the EPO and Storz Medical has filed an appeal, which is currently pending. The outcome following such appeal is unpredictable. If Storz Medical were to prevail, we would lose patent protection for our Visiotrack technology, which could result in our competitors and other third parties using our technology to compete with us. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and result of operations.

Our products, including our HIFU devices, may be subject to litigation involving claims of patent infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights of third parties. The defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits, patent opposition proceedings and related legal and administrative proceedings are both costly and time consuming and may result in a significant diversion of effort and resources by our technical and management personnel. An adverse determination in any such litigation or proceeding to which we become a party could subject us to significant liability to third parties, require us to seek licenses from third parties and pay ongoing royalties, require us to redesign certain products or subject us to injunctions preventing the manufacture, use or sale of the affected products. In addition to being costly, drawn-out litigation to defend or prosecute intellectual property rights could cause our customers or potential customers to defer or limit their purchase or use of our products until the litigation is resolved. See Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—HIFU Division—HIFU Division Patents and Intellectual Property’’ and Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—ESWL Division—ESWL Division Patents and Intellectual Property.’’

We own or co-own patents covering several of our technologies and have additional patent applications pending in the United States, the European Union, Japan and elsewhere. The process of seeking patent protection can be long and expensive and there can be no assurance that our patent applications will result in the issuance of patents. We also cannot assure investors that our current or future patents are or will be sufficient to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage to us. Our patents or patent applications could be challenged, invalidated or circumvented in the future. Failure to maintain or obtain necessary patents, licenses or other intellectual property rights from third parties on acceptable terms or the invalidation or cancellation of material patents could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Litigation may be necessary to enforce patents issued to us or to determine the enforceability, scope and validity of the proprietary rights of others. Our competitors, many of which have substantial resources and have made substantial investments in competing technologies, may apply for and obtain patents that will interfere with our ability to make, use or sell certain products, including our HIFU devices and/or our ESWL medical equipment, either in the United States or in foreign markets.

We also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how, which we seek to protect through non-disclosure agreements with employees, consultants and other parties. It is possible, however, that those non-disclosure agreements will be breached, that we will not have adequate remedies for any such breach, or that our trade secrets will become known to, or independently developed by, competitors. Litigation may be necessary to protect trade secrets or know-how owned by us. In addition, effective copyright and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited in certain countries.

The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations.

Our use of “open source” software could negatively affect our ability to sell our products and subject us to possible litigation.

Our products incorporate so-called “open source” software, and we may incorporate additional open source software in the future. Open source software is generally licensed by its authors or other third parties under open source licenses. If we fail to comply with these licenses, we may be subject to certain conditions, including requirements that we offer our products that incorporate the open source software for no cost, that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon, incorporating or using the open source software and/or that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of the particular open source license. If an author or other third party that distributes such open source software were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of one or more of these licenses, we could be required to incur significant legal expenses defending against such allegations and could be subject to significant damages, enjoined from the sale of our products that contained the open source software and required to comply with the foregoing conditions, which could disrupt the distribution and sale of our products.

We face a significant risk of exposure to product liability claims in the event that the use of our products results in personal injury or death.

Our products are designed to be used in the treatment of severe afflictions and conditions. Despite the use of our products, patients may suffer personal injury or death, and we may, as a result, face significant product liability claims. We maintain separate product liability insurance policies for the United States and Canada and for the other markets in which we sell our products. Product liability insurance is expensive and there can be no assurance that it will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. In addition, our insurance may not cover certain product liability claims or our liability for any claims may exceed our coverage

13

Table of Contents

limits. A product liability claim or series of claims brought against us with respect to uninsured liabilities or in excess of our insurance coverage, or any claim or product recall that results in significant cost to or adverse publicity against us could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, if any of our products prove to be defective, we may be required to recall or redesign the product which could result in costly corrective actions and harm to our business reputation, which could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our French and international operations expose us to additional costs and legal and regulatory risks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have significant French and international operations. We have direct distribution channels in almost fifty countries outside of France, our country of incorporation, and through our foreign subsidiaries. Compliance with complex foreign and French laws and regulations that apply to our international operations increases our cost of doing business. These regulations include, among others, U.S. laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other U.S. federal laws and regulations established by the Office of Foreign Asset Control, laws such as the UK Bribery Act 2010 or other local laws, which prohibit corrupt payments to governmental officials or certain payments or remunerations to customers. We have adopted a Code of Ethics that requires employees to comply with applicable laws and regulations and particularly with the applicable provisions of the French law known as the Sapin II law, and the related implementing decrees, and notably the requirements of Article 8 of the law which requires the establishment of a whistle-blowing policy. These numerous and sometimes conflicting laws and regulations include, among others, data privacy requirements, labor relations laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, “Know Your Customer” requirements, import and trade restrictions, export requirements.

We are also subject to healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to physician payment transparency, privacy and data protection regulations. These regulations include, but are not limited to (i) the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which governs the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protects the security and privacy of protected health information; (ii) the U.S. federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act (the “Sunshine Act”), which requires manufacturers of medical devices for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid, to report annually to the CMS information related to payments or other “transfers of value” made to physicians, (iii) two main sets of laws enacted in France about transparency requirements: “The French Anti-Gift Law” –updated in 2020- which regulates the provision of gifts, discounts and other incentives to physicians and the “Bertrand law” which imposes disclosure obligations on companies relating to benefits and remunerations granted to, and agreements concluded with, physicians and (iv) the provisions of the French Public Health Code relating to the processing and/or hosting of health-related personal data. Any failure to comply with these regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, in addition to HIPAA we are subject to other data privacy and protection laws and regulations that apply to the collection, transmission, storage and use of personally identifying information, which among other things, impose certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of personal information. The legislative and regulatory landscape for privacy and data protection continues to evolve in jurisdictions worldwide, and there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data protection issues with the potential to affect our business. There are numerous European, French, U.S. federal and U.S. state laws and regulations related to the privacy and security of personal information. For example, in the European Union, the collection and use of personal data is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which took effect in May 2018. The GDPR significantly increases the level of data protection and imposes a greater compliance burden on companies. In particular, it treats clinical data as personal data, requiring us or our subcontractors to implement more extensive procedures in the collection and processing of clinical trial data. Furthermore, the GDPR significantly increases the level of sanctions for non-compliance. The European Union data protection authorities have the power to impose administrative fines of up to a maximum of €20 million or 4% of the Company’s consolidated revenues for the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. The GDPR is also supplemented by the provisions of the French data protection act (law n°78 17 of 6 January 1978), in particular in respect of the processing of personal data in the field of healthcare. We believe that the GDPR did not have a material impact on our business or the way our technologies operate. However, due to the small size of the Company, we may not be able to adequately document all data collection, to obtain related consents in due time, to adequately protect personal data or to react in due time to address an individual request linked to the GDPR.

Given the high level of complexity of these laws, and the fact that we do business in regions where regulatory compliance is less robust, including in Russia and parts of Asia, there is a risk that we may inadvertently breach some provisions, for example, through fraudulent or negligent behavior of individual employees or business partners, our failure to comply with certain formal documentation requirements, or otherwise. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate these risks and manage these challenges. We have a decentralized international sales organization, and this structure makes it more difficult for us to ensure that our international selling operations comply with our global policies and procedures.

14

Table of Contents

Violations of these laws and regulations could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries and prohibitions on the conduct of our business. Violations of laws and regulations also could result in prohibitions on our ability to offer our products in one or more countries and could materially damage our reputation, our brand, our international expansion efforts, our ability to attract and retain employees, or our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We sell our products in many parts of the world and, as a result, our business is affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk because the mix of currencies in which our costs are denominated is different from the mix of currencies in which we earn our revenue. In 2020, 74% of our total costs of sales and operating expenses were denominated in euro, while 51% of our sales were denominated in currencies other than euro (primarily the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen). Our operating profitability could be materially adversely affected by large fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the euro and other currencies. For instance, a decrease in the value of the U.S. dollar or the Japanese yen against the euro would have a negative effect on our revenues, which may not be offset by an equal reduction in operating expenses and would therefore negatively impact operating profitability. From time to time we enter into foreign exchange forward sale contracts to hedge against fluctuations in the exchange rates of the principal foreign currencies in which our receivables are denominated (in particular, the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen), but there can be no assurance that such hedging activities will limit the effect of movements in exchange rates on our results of operations. As of December 31, 2020, we had no outstanding hedging instruments. In addition, since any dividends that we may declare will be denominated in euro, exchange rate fluctuations will affect the U.S. dollar equivalent of any dividends received by holders of ADSs. For more information concerning our exchange rate exposure, see Item 11, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”

Our results of operations have fluctuated significantly from quarter to quarter in the past and may continue to do so in the future, as we experience long and variable product sales cycles which are long and seasonal and are partly dependent on access to sufficient lease financing

Our results of operations have fluctuated in the past and are expected to continue to fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter depending upon numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the timing and results of clinical trials, changes in healthcare reimbursement policies, cyclicality of demand for our products, changes in pricing policies by us or our competitors, new product announcements by us or our competitors, customer order deferrals in anticipation of new or enhanced products offered by us or our competitors, product quality problems and exchange rate fluctuations. Furthermore, because our main products have relatively high unit prices, the amount and timing of individual orders can have a substantial effect on our results of operations in any given quarter.

The sales cycle of our products is lengthy as our products are high value capital items for our customers that purchase generally requires the approval of management or Boards of hospitals, purchasing groups and government authorities if applicable. In addition, some sales are subject to public tender offer processes and approvals which could happen to be lengthy and as a result, hospitals may delay their purchase orders according to their timelines and budget allocation. It is difficult to predict the exact timing for closing product sales directly linked to the length of capital expenditure cycles. Historically, our sales of products have tended to be stronger during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year.

In addition, we rely on the credit market to secure dedicated lease financings to fund the development of our Revenue-Per-Procedure (“RPP”) business model related to the sale of treatments’ procedures. Due to the limited availability of lending, we may be unable to access sufficient lease financing. Without lease financing, we may be unable to continue the development of our RPP model or we may need to fund such activity out of our existing working capital. Similarly, some of our clients rely on lease financing to finance their purchases of equipment. Limited availability of lease financing facilities may also affect their purchasing decisions and may adversely impact our equipment sales.

We had in the past identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, which are now fully remediated; however, we may, in the future, identify additional material weaknesses and if we fail to remediate adequately these material weaknesses and achieve an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately. In addition, the trading price of our securities may be adversely affected by a related negative market reaction.

As a publicly traded company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant continuing costs, including accounting fees and staffing costs, to maintain compliance with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. As of December 31, 2020, based on its assessment of our internal control, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective and that the material weakness reported in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2019, was fully remediated. During the course of 2020, the Company implemented a formal “Ticketing tool” in order to strengthen the change management process and documentation. The

15

Table of Contents

Company also strengthened its IT team to ensure a better segregation of duties upon IT changes implementation. The Company therefore consider that this material weakness has been remediated as of December 31, 2020.

We may in the future identify new material weaknesses in our internal control and we may not be able to fully remediate these material weaknesses. Furthermore, the ongoing requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may place a strain on our systems and resources. Our management is required to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of each year-end, and we are required to disclose management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, including any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

Our internal control over financial reporting has been designed to provide our management and Board of Directors with reasonable assurance regarding the preparation and fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements. On an on-going basis, we are reviewing, documenting and testing our internal control procedures. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, and as our business develops, additional resources and management oversight may be required.

Any failure to complete our assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, to remediate any material weaknesses that we have identified or may identify in the future, any failure to implement new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Any failure to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting and provide accurate financial statements may subject us to litigation, render future financings more difficult or expensive, and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decrease substantially. Inferior controls and procedures could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which may give rise to a class action and have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of the periodic management evaluations of our internal controls and, in the case of a failure to remediate any material weaknesses that we have identified or may identify in the future, would adversely affect the annual auditor attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that are required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Risks Relating to Ownership of Securities

Our securities may be affected by volume fluctuations, and may fluctuate significantly in price, causing you to lose some or all of your investment.

Our ADSs are currently traded on The NASDAQ Global Market. The average daily trading volume of our ADSs in 2020 was 107,764, the high and low bid price of our ADSs for the last two financial years ended on December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, was $5.28 and $1.46, and $5.42 and $1.78, respectively. Our ADSs have experienced, and are likely to experience in the future, significant price and volume fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs without regard to our operating performance. For example, average daily trading volume of our ADSs in December 2019 was 120,648 as opposed to 126,839 for the same period of 2020. The price of our securities and our ADSs in particular, may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, including changes in our business, operations and prospects, and factors beyond our control, including regulatory considerations, results of clinical trials of our products or those of our competitors, developments in patents and other proprietary rights, general market and economic conditions and results of operations being below analysts’ or investors’ expectations. Any downward pressure on the price of ADSs caused by the sale of ADS’s could also encourage short sales by third parties. In a short sale, a prospective seller borrows shares from a shareholder or broker and sells the borrowed shares. The prospective seller hopes that the share price will decline, at which time the seller can purchase shares at a lower price for delivery back to the lender. The seller profits when the share price declines because it is purchasing shares at a price lower than the sale price of the borrowed shares. Such sales could place downward pressure on the price of our ADSs by increasing the number of ADSs being sold, which could further contribute to any decline in the market price of our ADSs.

These broad market and industry factors may adversely affect the market price of our ADSs, regardless of our operating performance. If you invest in our ADSs, you could lose some or all of your investment.

In addition, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. Any additional litigation, if instituted, causes and could cause us to incur substantial costs and our management resources are and could be diverted to defending such litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

16

Table of Contents

Holders of ADSs have fewer rights than shareholders and must act through the Depositary to exercise those rights.

Holders of ADSs do not have the same rights as shareholders and accordingly, cannot exercise rights of shareholders against us. The Bank of New York Mellon, as Depositary (the “Depositary”), is the registered shareholder of the deposited shares underlying the ADSs, and therefore holders of ADSs will generally have to exercise the rights attached to those shares through the Depositary. We have used and will continue to use reasonable efforts to request that the Depositary notify the holders of ADSs of upcoming votes and ask for voting instructions from them. If a holder fails to return a voting instruction card to the Depositary by the date established by it for receipt of such voting instructions, or if the Depositary receives an improperly completed or blank voting instruction card, or if the voting instructions included in the voting instruction card are illegible or unclear, then such holder will be deemed to have instructed the Depositary to vote its shares and the Depositary shall vote such shares in favor of any resolution proposed or approved by our Board of Directors and against any resolution not so proposed or approved.

Preferential subscription rights may not be available for U.S. persons.

Under French law, shareholders have preferential rights to subscribe for cash issuances of new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares on a pro rata basis. U.S. holders of our securities may not be able to exercise preferential subscription rights for their shares unless a registration statement under the Securities Act is effective with respect to such rights or an exemption from the registration requirements imposed by the Securities Act is available. We may, from time to time, issue new shares or other securities giving rights to acquire additional shares (such as warrants) at a time when no registration statement is in effect and no Securities Act exemption is available. If so, U.S. holders of our securities will be unable to exercise their preferential rights and their interests will be diluted. We are under no obligation to file any registration statement in connection with any issuance of new shares or other securities.

For holders of ADSs, the Depositary may make these rights or other distributions available to holders after we instruct it to do so and provide it with evidence that it is legal to do so. If we fail to do this and the Depositary determines that it is impractical to sell the rights, it may allow these rights to lapse. In that case, the holders of ADSs will receive no value for them.

Holders of our ADSs may be exposed to increased transaction costs as a result of proposed European financial transaction taxes.

On February 14, 2013, the EU Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Directive (the "Draft Directive") on a common financial transaction tax (the "FTT"). According to the Draft Directive, the FTT should have been implemented and should have entered into effect in 10 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, and Slovenia, each a “Participating Member State”). In March of 2016, Estonia indicated its withdrawal from enhanced cooperation. In February 2021, the Portuguese Presidency of the Council proposed an inclusive discussion among all Member States on tax design issues of the FTT at the EU level.

Pursuant to the Draft Directive, the FTT was to be payable on financial transactions provided at least one party to the financial transaction was established or deemed established in a Participating Member State and there was a financial institution established or deemed established in a Participating Member State which was a party to the financial transaction, or was acting in the name of a party to the transaction. Under the Draft Directive, the FTT should not have applied, however, to (inter alia) primary market transactions referred to in Article 5(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1287/2006, including the activity of underwriting and subsequent allocation of financial instruments in the framework of their issue. The rates of the FTT were to be fixed by each Participating Member State but for transactions involving financial instruments other than derivatives would have amounted to at least 0.1% of the taxable amount. The taxable amount for such transactions would have been generally determined by reference to the consideration paid or owed in return for the transfer. The FTT would have been payable by each financial institution established or deemed established in a Participating Member State which was either a party to the financial transaction, or acting in the name of a party to the transaction or where the transaction had been carried out on its account. Where the FTT due had not been paid within the applicable time limits, each party to a financial transaction, including persons other than financial institutions, would have become jointly and severally liable for the payment of the FTT due.

The Draft Directive has not been adopted. The FTT proposal is still subject to negotiation between the Participating Member States and therefore may be changed at any time. In this respect, a new FTT proposal was submitted in December 2019. Under this new proposal, the FTT would be imposed at a 0.2% rate on the purchase of shares in domestically listed companies with a market capitalization in excess of €1.0 billion, and would also apply to depositary receipts issued domestically and abroad and which are backed by shares in these companies.

Moreover, once a final agreement on such FTT proposal will be reached (the "FTT Directive"), it will need to be implemented into the respective domestic laws of the Participating Member States and the domestic provisions implementing the FTT Directive might deviate from the FTT Directive itself. See Item 10, "Additional Information—Certain Income Tax Considerations."

17

Table of Contents

Prospective holders should therefore note, in particular, that any sale, purchase, or exchange of the Shares or ADSs could become subject to the FTT at a minimum rate of 0.1%. The holder may be liable to itself pay this charge or reimburse a financial institution for the charge, and / or may affect the value of the Shares or ADSs.

In any case, prospective holders should consult their own advisers in relation to the consequences of the FTT associated with subscribing for, purchasing, holding and disposing of ADSs.

Our investors may not realize the potential benefits of inspections under the PCAOB’s cooperative arrangement until a new cooperative arrangement with the French audit authority is entered into and inspections in France resume.

Our auditor, KPMG S.A., is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or PCAOB, in the United States. The PCAOB’s cooperative arrangement with the French audit authority expired in December 2019. The expiration of this cooperation arrangement prevents inspections of registered firms in France until a new arrangement is concluded. Such inspections assess a registered firm’s compliance with U.S. law and professional standards in connection with the performance of audits of financial statements filed with the SEC. As a result, our investors may not realize the potential benefits of such inspections until a new cooperative arrangement, which is currently under negotiation, is entered into and inspections in France resume. The current inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in France also makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside France that are subject to PCAOB inspections.

General Risks Factors

Our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected by the adverse economic, geo-political and financial developments.

The current geo-political, economic and financial environment, and particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly impacted the global, worldwide economies and has affected the level of public and private spending in the healthcare sector generally. A cautious or negative outlook or a COVID-19 crisis which lasts may cause our customers to further delay or cancel investment in medical equipment, which would adversely affect our revenues. See “-- Worldwide contagious, epidemic diseases may impact our international activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.”

We may issue additional securities that may be dilutive to our existing shareholders, in view of funding our new developments and accelerating our business expansion.

On June 28, 2019, our shareholders adopted resolutions allowing the Board of Directors to issue new shares in an aggregate maximum amount of 10 million shares in order to meet any fundraising opportunities that may be necessary to finance the Company’s development, which can be used to finance the acceleration of the roll out of our HIFU activities in the United States, given the CPT Code Category 1 approval for HIFU technology that was confirmed for execution in January 2021. On June 30, 2020, some of these financing resolutions were extended as they came to expiration. On June 28, 2019, our shareholders also adopted a resolution allowing the Board of Directors to issue 1 million new shares under the form of subscription options to motivate and reward the management teams dedicated to successfully implementing our U.S. and worldwide expansion plans. As of December 31, 2020, no additional shares were issued nor options allocated as authorized under the above Plan.

The issuance of additional ordinary shares, including any additional ordinary shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of preferential subscription rights that may not be available to all of our shareholders, would reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power of the then-existing shareholders.

We are subject to different corporate disclosure standards that may limit the information available to holders of our ADSs.

As a foreign private issuer, we are not required to comply with the notice and disclosure requirements under the Exchange Act relating to the solicitation of proxies for shareholder meetings. Although we are subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the periodic disclosure required of foreign private issuers under the Exchange Act is more limited than the periodic disclosure required of U.S. issuers. Therefore, there may be less publicly available information about us than is regularly published by or about other public companies in the United States.

18

Table of Contents

Judgments of U.S. courts, including those predicated on the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States, may not be enforceable in French courts.

An investor in the United States may find it difficult to:

​

​

We may in the future be the target of securities class action or other litigation, which could be costly and time consuming to defend.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against companies following a decline in the market price of its securities. This risk is especially relevant for us because innovative life sciences and medical device companies have experienced significant stock price volatility in recent years.

Any litigation, if instituted, could cause us to incur substantial costs and our management resources may be diverted to defending such litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

We are exposed to risks related to cybersecurity threats and incidents.

In the conduct of our business, we collect, use, transmit and store data on information technology systems. This data includes confidential information belonging to us, our customers and other business partners, as well as personally identifiable information of individuals. We also store data related to our clinical trials on our information technology systems. We also rely in part on the reliability of certain tested third parties’ cybersecurity measures, including firewalls, virus solutions and backup solutions. Cybersecurity incidents, such as breaches of data security, disruptions of information technology systems and cyber threats, may result in business disruption, the misappropriation, corruption or loss of confidential information and critical data (ours or that of third parties), reputational damage, litigation with third parties, diminution in the value of our investment in research and development, data privacy issues and increased cybersecurity protection and remediation costs. Like many companies, we may experience certain of these incidents given that the external cyber-attack threat continues to grow in part due to a perceived increased vulnerability associated with current remote working conditions. As of the date of this annual report, we have received fraudulent invoices, purportedly from our suppliers, submitted to us using fraudulent email addresses and have made payments in connection with two such fraudulent invoices. While we have protocols in place to protect against such fraudulent transfers, we may fail to identify fraudulent payment requests that we may receive in the future and may inadvertently provide payment in connection with such requests, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We devote significant resources to network security, data encryption and other measures to protect our systems and data from unauthorized access or misuse, including meeting certain information security standards that may be required by our customers, all of which increases cybersecurity protection costs. As these threats and incidents, and government and regulatory oversight of associated risks, continue to grow, we may be required to expend additional resources to enhance or expand upon the security measures we currently maintain.

There can be no assurance that our efforts or those of our third-party service providers to implement adequate security and control measures would be sufficient to protect against breakdowns, service disruption, data deterioration or loss in the event of a system malfunction, or prevent data from being stolen or corrupted in the event of a cyber-attack, security breach, industrial espionage attacks or insider threat attacks which could result in financial, legal, business or reputational harm. Future cybersecurity breaches or incidents or further increases in cybersecurity protection costs may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The expansion of social media platforms and new technologies present risks and challenges for our business and reputation.

We increasingly rely on social media and new technologies to communicate about our products and technologies. The use of these media requires specific attention. Unauthorized communications, such as press releases or posts on social media, purported to be issued by the Company, may contain information that is false or otherwise damaging and could have an adverse impact on our stock price. Negative or inaccurate posts or comments about the Company, our business, directors or officers on any social networking website could seriously damage our reputation. In addition, our employees and partners may use social media and mobile technologies inappropriately, which may give rise to liability for the Company, or which could lead to breaches of data security, loss of trade secrets

19

Table of Contents

or other intellectual property or public disclosure of sensitive information, including information about our employees, clinical trials or customers. Such uses of social media, mobile technologies, or information technology more generally could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

​

20

Table of Contents

We recently implemented organizational changes in our structure and realigned our activity into three divisions: HIFU, ESWL (including lithotripsy activities) and Distribution to better reflect how we view our businesses and how we measure our progress. Through these three divisions, we develop, produce, market and distribute minimally invasive medical devices, mainly for urological diseases. The HIFU division includes sales of Focal One, Ablatherm and related consumables and services, the ESWL division includes revenues generated by the existing installed base of Sonolith range of lithotripters and, the Distribution division includes the sale of complementary products such as lasers, micro-ultrasound systems and other products from third parties.

We believe that these three divisions will help to better support the expansion of our HIFU development and sales activities as well as to maximize the potential of our Distribution activities.

Our three divisions operate in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the rest of the world. Total net sales for the HIFU division (in net contributions to total consolidated sales) were €11.4 million, €14.1 million and €11.0 million for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Those sales are generated in Europe, the United States and the rest of the world, excluding certain countries in Asia, such as Japan, where our HIFU devices are not approved yet. Total net sales for the ESWL division were €12.9 million (including €6.7 million in Asia and €6.2 million in Europe and the rest of the world), €14.1 million (including €7.1 million in Asia and €7.0 million in Europe and the rest of the world),) and €14.5 million (including €6.1 million in Asia and €8.3 million in Europe and the rest of the world),, each for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Total net sales for the Distribution division were €17.3 million (including €9.0 million in Asia and €8.3 million in Europe and the rest of the world), €16.6 million (including €10.3 million in Asia and €6.3 million in Europe and the rest of the world), and €13.7 million (including €7.8 million in Asia and €5.9 million in Europe and the rest of the world), each for 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

See Note 29 to our consolidated financial statements for a breakdown of total sales and revenue during the past three fiscal years by operating division and Item 5, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.”

HIFU Division

The HIFU division is engaged in the development, manufacturing and marketing of robotic medical devices based on HIFU technology for the minimally invasive treatment of urological and other clinical indications. Our HIFU business is cyclical and generally linked to lengthy hospital decision and investment processes. Hence, our quarterly revenues are often impacted and fluctuate according to these parameters, generally resulting in a higher purchasing activity in the last quarter of the year. The HIFU division contributed €11.4 million to our consolidated net sales during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

HIFU Division Business Overview

The HIFU division currently develops, manufactures and markets robotic devices for the minimally invasive ablation of certain types of localized tumors using HIFU technology. HIFU technology uses a high-intensity convergent ultrasound beam generated by high power transducers to produce heat. HIFU technology is intended to allow the surgeon to destroy a well-defined area of diseased tissue without damaging surrounding tissue and organs, thereby eliminating the need for incisions, transfusions and general anesthesia and associated complications. The HIFU division markets three HIFU devices: the Ablatherm, the Ablatherm Fusion and the Focal One. The Ablatherm and Ablatherm Fusion are directed at prostate tissue ablation in the treatment of localized organ-confined prostate cancer, referred to as T1-T2 stage. The Focal One high-end device is a HIFU fully robotic device for prostate tissue ablation dedicated to the focal therapy of localized prostate cancer of T1-T2 stage, thereby destroying targeted cancer cells only. The robotic features of our HIFU devices make the treatment procedure safer for the patient and less operator dependent. All three devices can be used for patients who are not candidates for surgery or who have failed a radiotherapy treatment.

In addition to selling HIFU devices, the HIFU division also records revenues driven from HIFU treatments performance (“HIFU Treatment Driven Revenues”) which include net sales of (i) disposables, (ii) leases (iii) revenue-per-procedure (“RPP”) and (iv) treatment related services. We offer a HIFU mobile treatment option, which provides access to our HIFU devices without requiring hospitals and clinics to make an up-front investment in the equipment. Instead, hospitals and clinics perform treatments using these devices and remunerate us on a RPP basis (i.e., on the basis of the number of individual treatments provided). With this model, once the treatment is established in the medical community, a permanent installation may become more attractive, leading to the sale of the device in some of the larger locations.

In addition, the HIFU division also generates revenues from net sales of maintenance services associated to our installed HIFU devices. As of December 31, 2020, the HIFU division had an active installed base of 122 HIFU devices of which 61 Focal One machines.

21

Table of Contents

HIFU Division Business Strategy

The HIFU division’s business strategy is to capitalize on its expertise in HIFU and its position in urology to achieve long-term growth as a leader in the development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of minimally invasive medical devices for urological and other indications, using HIFU technology, while preserving patient quality of life. The HIFU division believes that minimally invasive treatments using HIFU could provide an alternative to current invasive therapies on the basis of reduced cost and reduced morbidity for a number of different indications. The key elements of the HIFU division’s strategy to achieve that objective are:

​

​

HIFU Products

Currently, we commercialize three products utilizing the HIFU technology. Cell destruction by HIFU is accomplished by a combination of thermal and cavitation effects caused by focused application of piezoelectric-generated high-intensity ultrasound; HIFU procedures are performed under general or spinal anesthesia.

​

​

22

Table of Contents

​

HIFU Division Patents and Intellectual Property

As of December 31, 2020, the HIFU division’s patent portfolio contained 33 granted owned or co-owned patents consisting of eight granted patents in the United States, 11 patents in the European Union, eight granted patents in Japan and six patents in China. These patents belong to 12 groups of patents covering technologies related to therapeutic ultrasound principles, systems and associated software.

Additional owned or co-owned patent applications covering certain other aspects of our HIFU technology, including two patent application in the United States, four patent applications in the European Union,  two patent applications in Japan and two patent applications in China, are currently pending before the relevant patent offices. During 2020, one such new patent application was filed in France, covering a new ultrasound dynamic focusing technology. Our ongoing research and development objectives are to maintain our leadership position in the treatment of prostate cancer and to extend the HIFU technology to new applications and minimally invasive systems. These research projects are conducted in cooperation with the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (“INSERM”) which collaboration gives rise in some cases to the filing of patent applications, followed by the grant of co-owned patents. We have entered into license agreements with INSERM related to certain patents co-owned with INSERM whereby we commit to pay an amount of royalties to INSERM based on a fixed rate of the net revenues generated from the sales of HIFU devices using co-owned patents. Under these agreements, which last for the life of each co-owned patent, we have the exclusive right to the commercial use of the co-owned patents, including the right to out-license such commercial rights. We have an option to obtain an exclusive license from INSERM relating to other patents co-owned with INSERM.

In July 2004, we licensed our HIFU technology for the specific treatment of the ‘‘cervicofacial’’ lesions, including the thyroid, to Theraclion, a French company created by our former director of research and development. On January 10, 2011, we extended the above license by granting Theraclion exclusivity for the treatment of benign breast tumors and by granting a non-exclusive worldwide license for the treatment of malignant breast tumors. This license agreement provides for the payment of certain royalties calculated on the basis of Theraclion’s sales of devices. We determined that we could not invest in these specific applications at that time and this license agreement therefore allows Theraclion to pursue the development of HIFU for these applications. We own no interest in Theraclion.

Although we believe that our HIFU patents are valid and should be enforceable against third parties and that our patent applications should, if successfully pursued, result in the issuance of additional enforceable patents, there can be no assurance that any or all of these patents or patent applications, if issued, will provide effective protection for the HIFU division’s proprietary rights in such technology. HIFU devices, as they are currently or may in the future be designed, may also be subject to claims of infringement of patents owned by third parties, which could result in an adverse effect on our ability to market HIFU systems. See Item 3, “Risk Factors—Risks relating to Intellectual Property Rights.”

HIFU Division Clinical and Regulatory Status

Clinical and Regulatory Status in Europe

Ablatherm devices previously placed on the market are maintained for use according to applicable regulation and any new placement of HIFU devices, in Europe or in territory covered by CE Marking, is being addressed with a Focal One new generation device. Based on clinical study results, we obtained a CE Marking for Focal One in June 2013, which allowed us to market the Focal One in the European Union and in worldwide territories where CE Marking is required. Our current notified body has recently expanded our Focal One CE certificate until May 2024.

Clinical and Regulatory Status in the United States

In November 2015, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market Ablatherm^® Integrated Imaging HIFU in the U.S. for the ablation of prostate tissue and in October 2017, we were granted a 510(k) clearance for our Ablatherm Fusion device.

On June 7, 2018, based on Ablatherm clearance and European pre-market and post-market clinical data, we obtained FDA 510(k) clearance for our Focal One device.

23

Table of Contents

Clinical and Regulatory Status in Japan

We have initiated discussions with the Japanese authorities (“PMDA”) on the best process to apply to obtain Japanese approval for our Focal One device. We will need to conduct a clinical trial in Japan to obtain clearance for our HIFU Focal One device. The process of requesting approval to market the Focal One in Japan may be long and may never result in the approval to market the Focal One in Japan. See Item 3, ‘‘Risk Factors—Our future revenue growth and income depend, among other things, on the success of our HIFU technology” and “— Our clinical trials related to products using HIFU technology may not be successful and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals necessary for commercialization of all of our HIFU products.”

Clinical and Regulatory Status in China

We did not obtain marketing clearance of our HIFU devices by Chinese authorities due to lengthy and complex processes. We are currently reviewing our regulatory and market access strategy to address the China market.

Clinical and Regulatory Status in the Rest of the World

The Ablatherm is cleared for distribution in Australia, Canada, South Korea, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Russia, Taiwan.

The Focal One device is cleared for distribution in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Costa Rica, United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, U.K, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela.

See Item 3, “Risk Factors—We operate in a highly regulated industry and our future success depends on government regulatory approval of our products, which we may not receive or which may be delayed for a significant period of time.”

HIFU Clinical Developments

HIFU in Prostate Cancer

The clinical study initiated in 2015 within the scope of “Forfait Innovation” (the “HIFI” study) and piloted by the French Association of Urology (“AFU”) aimed at evaluating the reimbursement of HIFU in France. The patients’ inclusion period closed on September 30, 2019. Patients included in the HIFI study will be followed for 30 months ahead of data analysis and results publication. During that follow-up period, we will be able to pursue patient treatments using HIFU under the specific Forfait Innovation coverage process, but these patients will not be followed as part of HIFI Study. In November 2020, the Study Coordinator presented interim results at the AFU annual congress. The results of the interim analysis (non-consolidated results) show a significantly better 24-month recurrence-free survival (i.e., the rate of salvage treatment by external beam radiotherapy and/or hormone therapy) for the patients treated with HIFU compared to the patients undergoing surgery (p<0.001). Additionally, urinary continence was significantly better and erectile function was significantly less impacted for the patients undergoing HIFU compared to those in the RP arm.

In July 2017, we, together with our academic, scientific and clinical partners, initiated a collaborative project (the “PERFUSE” project) under the “French National Investment Program for the Future”. The overall objective of the PERFUSE project is two-fold: (i) to set-up several clinical studies to assess focal therapy using the Focal One device in view of a better understanding of focal therapy in prostate cancer management and, (ii) to prepare a change of paradigm in the treatment of prostate cancer via technical innovations such as focal therapy. The whole project was awarded funding of €8 million over five years. We, as a partner of the PERFUSE project, are to receive about €1.2 million over the period as a non-refundable grant. As of December 31, 2020, we received refundable grant of a total of €0.6 million.

As part of PERFUSE project, several studies have already been initiated and sponsored by academic partner HCL - Edouard Herriot Hospital. In September 2018, we launched a Phase II multi-centric study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HIFU focal therapy in patients with intermediate-risk single-lobed prostate cancer (the “FOCALE” study). 170 patients are to be included in the FOCALE study. As of January 2021, 141 patients have already been included in this study within 13 French active centers. In October 2018, we initiated a Phase III, multi-centric, randomized study aiming at evaluating the efficacy of focal HIFU versus active surveillance hence reducing the need for radical treatment for low-risk prostate cancer patients (the “HIFUSA” study). 146 patients are to be included in the study. As of January 2021, 58 patients have been included within 11 French active centers. In February 2020, French regulatory authorities authorized the initiation of a Phase I study aiming at evaluating the use of HIFU guided by a new imaging modality (“PSMA-PET-MRI”) to evaluate prostate cancer recurrence after radiotherapy (the “PMSA” study). 40 patients are to be included in the study. The first patient was included in this study in July 2020.

24

Table of Contents

In early 2018, a new data collection collaborative effort, called the Focal Robotic Ultrasound Ablation (“FoR-UsA”) Registry, was initiated to collect high quality clinical data of U.S. patients treated with EDAP’s HIFU devices in academic institutions in the U.S. Clinical data from Focal One treatments is now being collected as part of this project. The FoR-UsA Registry is the first in the U.S. that specifically collects data on patients who have had HIFU focal therapy for prostate tissue ablation, giving urologists around the U.S. greater access to short and long-term HIFU outcomes. The registry also holds the potential for the FDA, which cleared HIFU for prostate tissue ablation in 2015, to re-evaluate the technology in the future for a prostate cancer indication. Likewise, health insurance reimbursements on a wider scale are also possible with such prospective data collection efforts documenting HIFU data from patients in the U.S.

HIFU for Potential Treatment of Liver Cancer

In view of addressing liver cancer using HIFU technology, we entered into a multi-partner liver cancer development project named the HECAM consortium in 2015 to develop a novel HIFU –per operative- approach to treat liver metastasis. The HECAM project was completed in 2020. To fund this development program, EDAP received a total of €1.5 million including €1.0 million as a conditional subsidy and €0.5 million as a non-refundable grant. Despite a first single-center study successfully implemented with Lyon’s Centre Leon Bérard cancer center, we decided not to pursue the development of HIFU for liver cancer as a per-operative approach. Additionally, the multi-center Phase II study, which was to be initiated following the single-center study, will not be implemented. We determined that the per-operative approach will not be sufficiently distinct from existing options to be commercially viable at this time and will require lengthy comparative clinical studies against existing therapeutic solutions to fulfill the requirement of the new European MDR regulations to become effective in May 2021. The company intends to leverage the efforts, knowledge and assets resulting from the HECAM project in two ways: to evaluate the technology and approach for pancreatic cancer for patients with few or even no alternatives and to evaluate the technology and approach as an extracorporeal solution for patients affected by primary or metastatic liver cancer.

HIFU for Potential Treatment of Deep Endometriosis

In 2020, we initiated a Phase II clinical study in France to investigate further the use of Focal One HIFU in the treatment of certain types of deep endometriosis situated in the low rectum. A total of 38 women will be enrolled in the study at five major hospitals in France and assessed over a six-month follow-up period. The intended end-point of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HIFU for this pathology. This Phase II study complements a Phase I study successfully completed in 2019 which reported promising results with a significant improvement of the outcomes and in patient quality of life at six months. These results were published in November 2019.

HIFU Clinical Publications

To date, clinical results related to our HIFU devices have been published in renowned peer-reviewed journals.

In October 2016, clinical results were published in the European Urology journal (Rischmann et al.). They validated a new focal HIFU strategy in the treatment of prostate cancer localized in a single lobe of the prostate (hemi-ablation treatment). The goal of focal treatment as opposed to “radical” treatment is to reduce the complications associated with standard treatments, particularly the risks of incontinence and impotence.

In December 2016, Professor Roland van Velthoven from Institut Bordet Oncology Center, Brussels, Belgium published in the Journal of Endourology a matched pair analysis of HIFU Hemi-ablation vs robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy. In this study, 55 patients with prostate cancer localized in a single lobe of the prostate were treated using Ablatherm-HIFU and their outcomes were compared 1:1 with patients having similar clinical criteria but who underwent robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy.

In 2017, Crouzet et al. from Edouard Herriot Hospital, Lyon, France, reported in the British Journal of Urology (BJU), oncological outcomes of salvage HIFU for locally recurrent prostate cancer after External Beam Radiotherapy (“EBRT”). This retrospective study comprises 418 patients from nine centers with local recurrent cancer after EBRT treated with HIFU from 1995 to 2009. The publication is the largest series of salvage treatment confirming very positive oncological outcomes.

More recently, Ganzer & al., Germany, evaluated focal HIFU Hemi-ablation in a prospective trial. Their data were published in the Journal of Urology in April 2018. In their conclusion, they reported that focal therapy Hemi-ablation is safe with acceptable oncologic outcome.

In November 2019, Philip CA et al, from Croix Rousse Hospital, Lyon, France, published in Ultrasound Obstet Gynecology journal, the results of the treatment of 20 patients with deep rectal endometriosis using Focal One HIFU. This EDAP sponsored study

25

Table of Contents

is the first one on the use of HIFU in this indication. The authors reported very promising results with low morbidity and significant efficiency on intestinal and gynecological symptoms as well as in the quality of life.

In September 2019, Dupré et al. from Leon Bérard Cancer Center, Lyon, France, published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments an evaluation of the feasibility, safety and accuracy of an Intraoperative HIFU device for treating liver metastases. Results are promising and a multi-centric Phase II study is to be initiated.

In February 2020, Tourhino-Barbosa et al. from Institut Mutualiste Monsouris, Paris, France, published in the Journal of Urology a retrospective study presenting their results of focal prostate cancer treatments (HIFU and cryotherapy) in their institution.

In September 2020, Nahar et al. from University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, published in the Journal of Urology, their results on 52 patients after focal treatments using the Ablaterm device (January 2016 to July 2018) on patients with clinically significant cancer profile. They concluded that focal HIFU is safe and effective and may be offered as an alternative to the existing modalities of treatment for select patients with all risk profiles of prostate cancer.

In October 2020, Abreu et al. From USC Institute of Urology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, published in the Journal of Urology the first U.S. series of results on a cohort of 100 consecutive men who underwent hemi-gland HIFU ablation (December 2015 to December 2019). They concluded that focal HIFU ablation is safe and provides excellent potency and continence preservation with adequate short-term cancer control and that radical treatment was avoided in 91% of men at two years.

In January 2021, Dr. Castilho Borges et al. from Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris, published in the Journal of Urology their results on 300 patients, a study in which the results compare the impact on functional results (Sexual Function and Urinary Continence) in two groups of patients: 195 patients in Focal Treatment (FT) versus 105 patients in the Whole Gland (WGT) Ablation Prostate Cancer. In the conclusions, FT is associated with better functional outcomes, with an earlier urinary continence recovery, and better sexual function at 3 and 12 months. Moreover, the morbidity associated with focal therapy is substantially lower than that related to whole gland therapy.

HIFU Division Market Potential

Prostate cancer is currently the first (in terms of new cases diagnosed) and second (in terms of number of deaths) most common form of cancer among men in many populations. In the United States, the American Cancer Society estimates the number of new prostate cancers to be diagnosed for 2021 to be approximately 248,530, of which approximately 70% are diagnosed with localized stage prostate cancer. Additionally, the HIFU division believes, based on figures provided by the World Health Organization that the worldwide incidence of localized prostate cancer is approximately twice this U.S. figure. A more effective diagnostic method for prostate cancer, the PSA test, has increased public awareness of the disease in developed countries since its introduction. PSA levels jump sharply when cancer is present. Prostate cancer is an age-related disease, and its incidence in developed countries is expected to increase as the population ages.

Management believes that HIFU therapy could be expanded to other medical conditions, such as rectal endometriosis, liver and pancreatic cancers but also to certain localized thyroid, breast, bladder, kidney, brain tumors. We decided to focus on developing HIFU for certain types of pathologies. However, the expansion of the use of HIFU to other areas of treatment will require a significant investment in research and development, an investment that we intend to accelerate as acceptance of HIFU as a treatment for localized prostate cancer is gaining grounds in the medical community.

For example, in 2019, as we decided to expand the development of HIFU beyond prostate cancer, we successfully finalized a clinical Phase I study using Focal One HIFU to address certain types of deep endometriosis located in the low rectum. The study results are promising and show a decrease of symptoms in the treated patients. In 2020, we initiated a Phase II multi-centric study to investigate further the use of HIFU in this pathology. As per the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, endometriosis is estimated to affect approximately one in 10 women of reproductive age.

In addition, in view of addressing liver cancer using HIFU technology, we decided to pursue the development of HIFU for liver cancer as an extracorporeal solution, avoiding open surgery approach.

HIFU Reimbursement status

In the United States, following the AMA’s recognition of a new Category 1 CPT code, CMS finalized payment rules for hospitals, facilities, and physicians that facilitates coverage and reimbursement for the ablation of malignant prostate tissue with HIFU technology, effective January 1, 2021. U.S. private insurers are continuing to evaluate and advance coverage and payment policies

26

Table of Contents

related to HIFU procedures for prostate tissue ablation. We have engaged Medical Technology Partners (MTP) and Argenta Advisors, two leading reimbursement consultancies, to support us in reimbursement analysis and strategies. As public and private payors expand coverage and payment for HIFU procedures, our Focal One HIFU device and procedure likely will have accelerated market access and demand in the United States.

On the hospital payment side, the final rule maintains the HIFU procedure in the Level 5 Urology Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) in 2021. This translates into a payment for a hospital performing a HIFU procedure on a Medicare patient of around $4,400 as a national average, adjusted locally based on the wage index. This represents an increase of 5%, from the payment hospitals receive from Medicare for a HIFU procedure in 2020.

In the physician fee schedule final rule, CMS has established for the first time a payment to physicians performing a HIFU procedure in the U.S. In the final rule, CMS has set a total Relative Value Units (“RVUs”) for a physician performing a HIFU procedure at 28.57. This translates to an average payment of $997 for a urologist performing a HIFU procedure on a Medicare patient in a facility setting. As a reference, a comparable established minimally invasive therapy for prostate cancer, cryotherapy, yields 22.28 RVUs, which translates to $786 for the urologist under the same setting and patient conditions. A radical prostatectomy would grant the urologist 34.06 RVUs, which translates to a Medicare payment of $1,188, or 41.95 RVUs and $1,464 if performed laparoscopically.

In the European Union, there is no harmonized procedure for obtaining reimbursement and, consequently, we must seek reimbursement in each Member State. Procedures performed with our HIFU devices are not reimbursed in the European Union with the exception of Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom (where procedures are partially reimbursed by either public healthcare systems or private insurers) and France under certain conditions. In 2014, the French healthcare government authorities announced the reimbursement of prostate cancer treatment procedures using HIFU as part of a specific process (“Forfait Innovation”) to further validate breakthrough therapies and to accelerate their related reimbursement process based on clinical trials and data registries. HIFU patients are still being treated and entered into the dedicated registry. Under this specific process, French healthcare government authorities will review the clinical data gathered following this decision in view of granting definitive reimbursement for HIFU.

HIFU Competition

The principal current therapies for prostate cancer carry side effects that can seriously affect a patient’s quality of life. One of the current therapies is radical prostatectomy (surgery), which involves the ablation of the entire prostate gland. Radical prostatectomy requires several days of hospital stay and several weeks of recovery, usually with catheterization, and may result in partial and/or total urinary incontinence. In addition, it almost invariably renders patients impotent. A newer surgical technique, nerve-sparing prostatectomy, has been developed to address that problem. However, the procedure can only be applied when the tumor is not located close to the surface of the prostate and it requires a very skilled surgeon. Other therapies for localized prostate cancer include brachytherapy, a therapy that involves the implantation of radioisotopes into the prostate gland, external beam radiation therapy and cryotherapy.

Our robotic HIFU devices compete with all current treatments for localized tumors, which include surgery, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, cryotherapy and electroporation. We believe that HIFU competes against those treatments on the basis of efficacy, limited side effects and cost-effectiveness.

We also believe that Focal One will be well positioned to address the growing demand for a “focal” approach of localized prostate cancer which cannot be answered by surgery or radiation therapy. “Focal” treatment (also known as “partial” or “zonal” treatment, as opposed to “radical” or “total” treatment) provides an effective and accurate ablative treatment of localized tumors with the capacities of being flexible and repeatable, while preserving patient quality of life.

Other companies are working with HIFU for the minimally invasive treatment of tumors. See Item 3, “Risk Factors—Competition in the markets in which we operate is intense and is expected to increase in the future.”

Certain existing and potential competitors of our HIFU division may have substantially greater financial, research and development, sales and marketing and personnel resources than us and may have more experience in developing, manufacturing, marketing and supporting new products. We believe that an important factor in the potential future market for HIFU treatments will be the ability to make the substantial investments in research and development required to advance the technology beyond the treatment of prostate cancer. These future investments are wholly dependent on the successful acceptance of the device for the treatment of prostate cancer.

Other companies working with HIFU technology for the minimally invasive treatment of tumors include SonaCare Medical, a U.S. company that markets a device called the Sonablate for the ablation of prostatic tissue. Sonablate was cleared by the FDA for

27

Table of Contents

commercialization in the U.S. in October 2015. Profound Medical, a Canadian company, is developing transurethral ultrasound therapy for prostate cancer. Profound Medical acquired Philips Healthcare’s HIFU activity, integrating the development of HIFU devices addressing uterine fibroids, breast tumors and drug delivery activated by HIFU. Insightec, an Israeli company owned mainly by General Electric, Elbit Medical Imaging and Koch Industries, has developed a device using HIFU technology to treat uterine fibroids, painful bone tumors and brain disorders. Theraclion, a French company licensed by EDAP to use certain of our HIFU patents, is currently marketing the Echopulse HIFU device to treat thyroid tumors, benign breast tumors and varicose veins. Haifu, a Chinese company, is developing HIFU products addressing various types of cancers.

HIFU Division Sales and Distribution of Products

The HIFU division markets and sells its products through our own direct marketing and sales organization as well as through selected third-party distributors and agents in several countries. Using our direct subsidiaries or representative offices network, the HIFU division maintains direct marketing and sales forces in France, the United States, Germany, Malaysia, South Korea and Russia, which currently represent its largest HIFU markets. Additionally, the HIFU division markets and sells its products through our distribution platform in the rest of Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.

The HIFU division’s customers are located worldwide and have historically been principally public and private hospitals and urology clinics. The HIFU division believes that as it increases its customer base it will gain further access to the medical community, which will enable it to monitor the urological market as well as other new targeted markets, introduce new products and conduct trials addressing new pathologies under satisfactory conditions. No single customer of the HIFU division represents a significant portion of the division’s installed base.

The HIFU division’s marketing efforts currently include the organization of information and training programs for urologists, mainly in key European countries and in the United States where HIFU awareness is growing, comprehensive media and web programs to educate patients on the availability of HIFU technology to treat localized prostate cancer and strong participation in focused dedicated urological events. Our dedicated web site www.hifu-prostate.com for patients and physicians is visited regularly. The information contained on that website is not incorporated by reference herein. As HIFU expands in these countries, we intend to strengthen our marketing efforts and further invest in educational and sales programs in these countries.

ESWL Division

The ESWL lithotripsy division is engaged in the manufacturing, marketing and servicing of our installed base of Sonolith range of lithotripters. The ESWL division contributed €12.9 million to our consolidated net sales during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

Our ESWL business is quite cyclical and generally linked to lengthy hospital decision and investment processes and their activities. Hence our quarterly revenues are often impacted and fluctuate according to these parameters, generally resulting in a possible higher selling activity in the last quarter of the year.

ESWL Division Business Overview

The ESWL division’s business is producing and marketing certain medical devices, known as lithotripters, for the treatment of urinary tract stones by means of ESWL technology. ESWL uses extracorporeal shockwaves, which can be focused at urinary stones within the human body to fragment the stones, thereby permitting their natural elimination and preventing the need for incisions, transfusions, general anesthesia, and the potential for related complications. The ESWL division currently markets one model of lithotripter: the Sonolith i-move. The Company stopped manufacturing the Sonolith i-sys lithotripter in 2020. In addition, as part of the strategic shift we recently implemented, we decided to discontinue our R&D investments in lithotripsy, including the launch of our Endo-Up platform.

As of December 31, 2020, the ESWL division has an actively maintained or otherwise serviced installed base of 731 lithotripters.

ESWL Division Business Strategy

The business strategy for the ESWL division is to capitalize on its expertise in ESWL and its position in urology to maintain our lithotripsy sale and service activity as we intend to maintain this cash generating activity. The ESWL division manufactures its own lithotripsy device, the Sonolith i-move, via EDAP TMS France SAS (“EDAP TMS France”), our wholly owned subsidiary.

28

Table of Contents

ESWL Division Products

The ESWL division offers the Sonolith i-move extracorporeal shockwave lithotripter to small and mid-size hospitals. The ESWL division also sells disposable parts for lithotripters and electrodes of the Sonolith line, which need to be replaced approximately every ten treatments.

The Sonolith i-move relies on the electroconductive technology for shockwave generation. The electroconductive technology, which is derived from the electrohydraulic technology on which the first ESWL lithotripters were based, permits improved focusing of the shockwave, reduces the variability in the shockwave pressure and allows a better transfer of energy to the calculus. These features result in a faster, more effective treatment as compared to electrohydraulic lithotripters.

The ESWL division’s customers are located worldwide and have historically been principally large hospitals, urology clinics and research institutions. To increase its penetration of the market segment of smaller hospitals and outpatient clinics, the ESWL division developed the Sonolith i-move, a compact electroconductive lithotripter designed for smaller clinics. The Sonolith i-move offers a wide range of configurations to suit various budgets and various local market needs. Our Sonolith range has also been very successful thanks to its innovative Visio-Track ultrasound stone localization: a unique three-dimensional virtual system that uses infrared stereovision proprietary technology to guide the treatment robotically.

ESWL Division Patents and Intellectual Property

As of December 31, 2020, the ESWL division’s patent portfolio contained six granted owned and co-owned patents consisting of one granted patent in the United States, four granted patents in the European Union and one granted patent in Japan.

These patents belong to five groups of patents covering technologies relating to ESWL systems and associated software capabilities. The ESWL division’s patents cover both piezoelectric and electroconductive technologies associated to ESWL generator, localization systems and device design. The ESWL division’s ongoing R&D objectives in ESWL are to further increase the clinical efficacy, the cost-effectiveness and the ease of use of its products to make them accessible to wider patient and user populations.

ESWL Division Regulatory Status

The Sonolith i-move is cleared and available for commercial distribution in the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Egypt, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam.

The ESWL division continues to provide disposables, replacement parts and services for the current installed base of Sonolith Praktis, Sonolith Visio and Sonolith i-sys even though we have discontinued the manufacture of these machines.

ESWL Division Market Potential

We estimate that roughly 12% of the world population suffers from kidney or ureteric stones during their lifetime. Although urinary calculi may be eliminated naturally by the body, natural elimination is frequently accompanied by considerable pain and very often by serious complications, such as obstruction and infection of the urinary tract.

Since its introduction in clinical practice more than 35 years ago, ESWL has become the standard treatment for urinary calculi. ESWL consists of fragmenting calculi within the body using extracorporeal shockwaves without any surgery. We believe that the market for lithotripters includes both buyers looking for a sophisticated, higher-priced machine (generally hospitals and larger urology clinics) and buyers looking for simpler and less expensive machines (typically smaller clinics). The market for lithotripters is mature and has become primarily a replacement and service and maintenance market in most of the world. We believe that companies with a large installed base of ESWL lithotripters will be most successful in the replacement market. Consequently, we intend to capitalize on our share of the installed base of ESWL lithotripters to maintain our position in the replacement market for those machines. Several geographical opportunities remain in under-equipped countries or in some countries where the national health system strategy is being reviewed for hospitals and clinics equipment. ESWL is today in competition with less costly stone laser devices. Consequently, in order to remain competitive, EDAP integrated stone laser products into its ESWL product range.

We expect the ESWL division to continue to contribute to the financial results despite the mature nature of the market, due to revenues from consumables, maintenance contracts and demand for replacement machines. See Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects’’.

29

Table of Contents

ESWL Division Competition

The ESWL market is characterized by severe price competition among manufacturers, with the result that, in recent years, the average unit price of ESWL lithotripters has declined. The ESWL division expects this trend to continue. See Item 5, ‘‘Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.’’ The ESWL division’s major competitors in developed countries are Wolf, Storz Medical and Dornier Medtech.

ESWL Division Sales and Distribution of Products

The ESWL division markets, sells and services its products through our direct sales and service platform in France, Germany, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and in the United Arab Emirates through our representative office in Dubai. The ESWL division also markets its products through agents and third-party distributors in several other countries.

The ESWL division’s customers are located worldwide and have historically been mainly public and private hospitals and urology clinics. We believe that the division’s customer base provides it with excellent access to the urological community and enables it to introduce its ESWL products under satisfactory conditions.

No single customer of the ESWL division represents a significant portion of the division’s installed base. The ESWL division’s marketing efforts include the organization of training programs for urologists worldwide.

Distribution Division

The Distribution division is engaged in the marketing, distribution and servicing of products complementary to our global activity such as lasers, micro-ultrasound systems and other medical products from third parties. The Distribution division contributed €17.3 million to our consolidated net sales during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

Distribution Division Business Strategy

The Distribution division’s business strategy is to generate revenues from the marketing and distribution of medical devices for the minimally invasive diagnosis or treatment of urological disorders and other various clinical indications. These products include, but are not limited to: micro-ultrasound devices such as the ExactVu product and lasers. The Distribution division also generates revenues from the leasing of devices, as well as from the sale of disposables, spare parts and maintenance contracts for equipment sold under the Distribution division.

We have engaged in exclusive distribution agreements with third parties to distribute and service their products in certain territories, under specific conditions.

The Distribution division strategy is also to distribute products that bring synergies and complementarity to our existing home grown technologies. In May 2020, we signed an exclusive worldwide distribution agreement with Exact Imaging, a developer of high resolution micro-ultrasound imaging technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, we will market Exact Imaging’s micro-ultrasound diagnostic devices alongside our Focal One. In that respect, ExactVu micro-ultrasound complements our Focal One HIFU technology. ExactVu offers all of the steps and procedures that need to be done prior to a treatment for prostate cancer. By distributing the two technologies, EDAP offers the urologist a complete solution for focal prostate cancer management, with full autonomy and capabilities from diagnostic to treatment. This type of complete care is also extremely attractive to patients with prostate cancer as it represents a non-invasive way of managing their disease by using diagnostics to eliminate unnecessary biopsy procedures and allows for a very precise non- invasive HIFU ablation of the suspicious and diagnosed region of the prostate.

Distribution Division Products

The Distribution division currently distributes Holmium lasers (HoLEP) produced by the Israeli company Lumenis Ltd, under an exclusive agreement limited to the French territory. HoLEP Moses Lumenis laser is a groundbreaking, patent-protected pulse delivery technology that remarkably improves energy transmission, resulting in more efficient lithotripsy and BPH treatments compared to the regular Holmium pulse1. The Distribution division also exclusively markets lasers manufactured by Italian company Quanta System Spa in Japan, in certain countries in South-East Asia. Distribution agreements are under renewal in Japan and South-East Asia territories. The Distribution division also exclusively markets Quanta lasers in certain Middle East territories including Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain.

30

Table of Contents

The Distribution division also distributes the ExactVu device, produced by the Canadian company Exact Imaging, under a worldwide and exclusive agreement. ExactVu is an ultrasound-based imaging system that can operate and be used the same way as a standard ultrasound, but it also has the unique capability of operating at a very high frequency of 29MHz. Similar to MRI, it allows urologists to visualize and locate suspicious regions within the prostate and target biopsies in real time. Exact Imaging’s technology also includes a solution called FusionVu. Where an MRI is required, FusionVu allows for the quick import, alignment and targeting of MRI-identified lesions. After the MRI image is imported via FusionVu, ExactVu’s 70 micron real-time resolution, allows physicians to very precisely targeting lesions.

The Distribution division, through the Group’s Japanese subsidiary, exclusively distributes some urology products of the American company Laborie Medical Technologies (“Laborie”) in Japan, that includes Urodynamic equipment, Uroflow, and a range of disposable products. Laborie is the world leader of Urodynamic systems and disposables which are used by urologists and gynecologists to diagnose lower urinary tract functions. The Group’s Japanese subsidiary also distributes x-ray imaging systems for the diagnosis of musculoskeletal pathologies and orthopedic surgical care in Japan on behalf of French company EOS Imaging and also exclusively distributes urology accessories on behalf of Monaco’s company Rocamed in Japan.

Manufacturing

Our current manufacturing operations consist of manufacturing medical products in our facility, which is FDA-registered and certified under international ISO 13485: 2016 and MDSAP standards. We manufacture our own products through our operational subsidiary EDAP TMS France.

We manufacture the critical components for our devices and accessories, unless a subcontractor can manufacture the component more cost-effectively, and we also perform final assembly and quality control processes and maintain our own set of production standards. We purchase the majority of the components used in our products from a number of suppliers, but for several components of our products, we rely on a single source. Most of single source components are secured by contract, by double sourcing or by safety stock. Furthermore, we conduct regular quality audits of suppliers’ manufacturing facilities. Our principal suppliers are located in France, Germany, Denmark, South Korea and the United States. Management believes that the relationships with our suppliers are good.

Quality and Design Control

The manufacturing operations of EDAP TMS France must comply with all regulations of countries where we market our products, including the GMP regulations enacted by the FDA, which establish requirements for assuring quality by controlling components, processes and document traceability and retention, among other things. EDAP TMS France’s facilities are also subject to inspections performed by the FDA. EDAP TMS France is ISO 13485: 2016 and MDSAP certified which indicates compliance by EDAP TMS France’s manufacturing facilities with international standards for quality assurance, design and manufacturing process control. EDAP TMS France also complies with the applicable requirements that will allow it to affix the CE Marking to certain of its products. Our manufacturing site also complies with Taiwanese, Japanese, Canadian, Australian, Brazilian and South Korean regulations, as well as with the U.S. Quality System Regulation. See ‘‘Information on the Company—Government Regulation—Healthcare Regulation in the United States’’ and ‘‘—Government Regulation—Healthcare Regulation in the European Union.’’

​

31

Table of Contents

Property and Equipment

We have one principal facility, which is located in Vaulx-en-Velin, on the outskirts of Lyon, France. The premises comprise 4,150 square meters and are leased to us under a renewable ten-year commercial lease agreement which became effective on July 1, 2015. We use this facility to manufacture our device portfolio. We believe the terms of the lease reflect commercial practice and market rates. We are not aware of any environmental issues that could affect utilization of the facility.

In addition, we lease office and/or warehouse facilities in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Flensburg (Germany), Austin (U.S.), Moscow (Russia), Seoul (South Korea), Fukuoka, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo (Japan) and Dubai (United Arab Emirates).

Government Regulation

Government regulation in our major markets, in particular the United States, the European Union and Japan, is a significant factor in the development and marketing of our products and in our ongoing research and development activities. See Item 3, “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Government Regulations.”

Regulation in the United States

We and our products are regulated in the United States by the FDA under a number of statutes including the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (‘‘FDC Act’’). Pursuant to the FDC Act, the FDA regulates the preclinical and clinical testing, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, sale, marketing, advertising and promotion of medical devices in the United States. Medical devices are classified in the United States into one of three classes - Class I, II or III - on the basis of the controls reasonably necessary to ensure their safety and effectiveness. Class I devices are those whose safety and effectiveness can be ensured through general controls, such as establishment and registration, medical device listing, FDA-mandated CGMP and labeling. Most Class I devices are exempt from premarket notification (510(k)). Class II devices are those whose safety and effectiveness can reasonably be ensured through the use of general controls and ‘‘special controls,’’ such as special labeling requirements, mandatory performance standards, and post-market surveillance. Class II medical devices require 510(k) submission and clearance. The FDA may also require the submission of clinical data as part of the 510(k) for Class II devices. The FDA introduced the de novo 510(k) process for novel devices that present low to moderate risk where there is no suitable predicate device to support a standard 510(k) submission. Class III devices are those that require submission of a pre-market approval (“PMA”) application by the FDA to ensure their safety and effectiveness. The PMA process is expensive and often lengthy, typically requiring several years, and may not necessarily result in approval. The manufacturer or the distributor of the device must obtain an IDE approval from the FDA before commencing human clinical trials in the United States in support of the PMA. Some newer PMA devices must also go before a clinical review panel before FDA approval. Our lithotripsy range of Sonolith i-move products is now classified by the FDA as Class II devices. Our Ablatherm and Focal One HIFU devices are also classified as Class II.

The FDC Act also regulates quality and manufacturing procedures by requiring us to demonstrate and maintain compliance with current Quality System Regulations (QSR). Our manufacturing facilities are in compliance with the requirements of the QSR. There are also certain requirements of state, local and foreign governments which must be complied with in the manufacturing and marketing of our products. We believe that the manufacturing and quality control procedures we employ meet the requirements of these regulations.

Advertising and promotional activities in the United States are subject to regulation by the FDA and, in certain instances, by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Regulation in the European Union

In the European Union, we annually perform ISO 13485: 2016 and MDSAP (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, U.S.) certification audits, showing that we comply with standards for quality assurance, manufacturing and design control.

In 2017, the European Union enacted the new Medical Device Regulation (“MDR”). Manufacturers with currently approved medical devices in their portfolio have had an initial transition time of three years, i.e. until May 26, 2020 to meet new MDR requirements. The transition period was extended to four years, i.e. until May 26, 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic context. The MDR introduces substantial changes to the way medical device manufacturers bring their devices to the European market and how they maintain compliance throughout the product’s life cycle. MDR will replace the EU’s current Medical Device Directive (93/42/EEC) (“MDD”). We are currently updating our organization and quality system as well as our product development to be able to handle the MDR enforcement within the expected timelines for our existing devices ranges and the devices under development. We have implemented regulatory actions to ensure our devices may be marketed in the European and international markets after May 2021.

32

Table of Contents

The MDD and the MDR provide that medical devices that meet certain safety standards must bear a certification of conformity, the European Community approval ‘‘CE Marking.’’ Except in limited circumstances, member states of the European Union may not prohibit or restrict the sale, free movement or use for its intended purpose of a medical device bearing the CE Marking. Medical devices marketed throughout the European Union must comply with the requirement of the MDD and MDR as applicable to bear a CE Marking (subject to certain exceptions).

Pursuant to the MDD and MDR, medical devices are classified into different classes on the basis of their invasiveness and the duration of their use. The classification serves as a basis for determining the conformity assessment procedures that apply to medical devices to be eligible to receive a CE Marking. The conformity assessment procedures for Class I devices can be carried out, as a general rule, under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer, while for devices of other classes, the involvement of a notified body is required. The extent of the involvement of such body in the development and manufacturing of a device varies according to the class under which it falls, with Class III devices being subject to the greatest degree of supervision. All of the devices currently marketed by us are Class I, IIa and IIb devices.

Regulation in Japan

The import and sales of medical devices in Japan is regulated by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (‘the “MHLW’’). Our Japanese subsidiary has obtained a license as the “Marketing Authorization Holder” as well as specific marketing approvals to import and market our products in Japan. Our Japanese subsidiary is also operating as “Designated Marketing Authorization Holder” on behalf of some companies to market their products in the Japanese Territory. The MHLW also administers various national health insurance programs to which each Japanese citizen is required to subscribe. These programs cover, among other things, the cost of medical devices used in operations. The MHLW establishes a price list of reimbursable prices applicable to certain medical devices under the national health insurance programs and until a new device is included in this list its costs are not covered by the programs. The LT02, the LT-02X, the Sonolith Praktis, the Sonolith Vision, the Sonolith i-sys and the Sonolith i-move are all included on the MHLW’s list for reimbursement.

​

33

Table of Contents

The Company’s revenue consists of:

Sales of our medical devices and sales of disposables, sales of RPPs and leases, and sales of spare parts and services, are all net of commissions.

The Company invoices its customers based on the billing schedules in its sales arrangements. Payments are generally due between one to three months from the date of invoice.

The Company accounts for a contract with a customer when there is a legally enforceable contract between the Company and its customer, the rights of the goods or services and their payment terms can be identified, the contract has commercial substance, collectability of the contract consideration is probable, it is approved and the parties are committed to their obligations.

Our sale arrangements may contain multiple elements, including device(s), consumables and services. For these multiple-element arrangements, the Company accounts for individual goods and services as separate performance obligations: (i) if a customer can benefit from the good or service on its own or with other resources that are readily available to the customer, and (ii) if they are a distinct good or service that is separately identifiable from other items in the multiple-element arrangement. The Company’s sale arrangements may include a combination of the following performance obligations: device(s), consumables, leases and services (such as, but not limited to, warranty extension).

For multiple-element arrangements, revenue is allocated to each performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. Standalone selling prices are based on observable prices at which the Company separately sells the goods or services. If a standalone selling price is not directly observable, then the Company estimates the standalone selling price considering market conditions and entity-specific factors including, but not limited to, features and functionality of the goods and services, geographies, and type of customer. The Company regularly reviews standalone selling prices and updates these estimates as necessary.

The Company recognizes revenue when the performance obligations are satisfied by transferring control over the good or service to a customer.

The Company’s revenue consists of the following:

Sales of goods:

Sales of goods are and have historically been comprised of sales net of commission of medical devices (ESWL lithotripters and HIFU devices) and net sales of disposables (mostly Ablapaks and Focalpaks in the HIFU division and electrodes in the ESWL division). Sales of goods also includes products such as urology laser and urodynamics devices distributed through our agents and third-party distributors.

For devices and disposables, revenue is recognized when the Company transfers control to the customer (i.e. when the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefit from, the device or disposables), which is generally at the point of delivery or installation, depending on the terms of the arrangement (i.e. when the customer can use the good to provide services or sell or exchange the good), and based on contractual incoterms. Such installation related costs are immaterial in the context of the contract with the customer and do not constitute a distinct performance obligation.

The Company’s sales arrangements do not provide a right of return. The goods are generally covered by a period of one to two years standard warranty upon installation, depending of the geographic area. Over this standard one to two years period, warranty is considered as an extension of such warranty period and constitutes a distinct performance obligation. The Company also provides training associated with the sales of goods; such training-related costs are immaterial in the context of the contract with the customer and do not constitute a distinct performance obligation.

34

Table of Contents

Sales of RPPs and leases:

Sales of RPP and leases include the revenues from the sale of treatment procedures and from the leasing of machines. For RPPs, we provide machines to clinics and hospitals for free for a limited period, rather than selling the devices. These hospitals and clinics perform treatments using the devices and usually pay us based on the number of individual treatments provided. Revenues from leases of machines are considered as immaterial.

Revenues related to the sale of treatments invoiced on a ‘‘Revenue-Per-Procedure’’ (‘‘RPP’’) basis are recognized when the treatment procedure has been completed. Revenues from devices leased to customers under operating leases are recognized on a straight-line basis.

Regarding multiple-element arrangements with a lease component, a portion of the contract is allocated to the lease component on the basis of observable market prices applied by the Company for similar devices under operating leases. The lease component is recognized on a straight line basis over the contractual period. Other immaterial components under the contract are recognized in accordance with their nature.

Sales of spare parts and services:

Revenues related to spare parts are recognized when spare parts are delivered to distributors who perform their own maintenance services. Spare parts used in the performance of EDAP’s own maintenance and repair services are generally not recognized separately, unless a type of spare part is specifically excluded from the maintenance contract terms.

Revenues related to services mainly consist of maintenance contracts which rarely exceed one year and are recognized on a straight line basis over the term of the service period as the customer benefits from the service throughout the service equally contract period. For services rendered when no maintenance contract is in place or for services not included in the scope of a maintenance contract, revenues are recorded when services are performed.

The Company recognizes revenue for extended warranties included in the multiple-element arrangements as a separate performance obligation in sales of services on a straight-line basis over the extended warranty period. In the majority of countries in which the Company operates, the statutory warranty period is one to two years and the extended warranty covers periods beyond this statutory period. Standard warranties do not constitute a separate performance obligation. The Company accrues for the warranty costs at the time of sale of the device through the multiple-element arrangement.

Agents and distributors:

As part of its sale process in countries other than continental France, when the Company does not have a local subsidiary, sales of goods to end-customers are performed through agent and distributors. Such agent and distributors are primarily responsible for the sales’ process, bear the inventory risk, and are free to determine the sale prices. Sales of goods to agents and distributors are recognized at the time of the sale to the related agent or distributor, based on contractual incoterms.

Deferred revenue:

Deferred revenue for the periods presented primarily relates to service contracts where the service fees are billed up-front, generally quarterly or annually, prior to those services having been performed, and consists primarily of billing or cash receipts in advance of services due under maintenance contracts or extended warranty contracts. The associated deferred revenue is generally recognized ratably over the service period.

Disaggregation of revenue:

Disaggregation by primary geographical market, and timing of revenue recognition is reported in Note 18.

Contract Balances:

Details on contract liabilities are reported on Note 11.

The Company applies the practical expedient in paragraph 606-10-50-14 and does not disclose information about remaining performance obligations that have original expected durations of one year or less. This relates mainly to maintenance services.

35

Table of Contents

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We evaluate the collectability of our accounts receivable based on the individual circumstances of each customer on a quarterly basis. In circumstances where we are aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations to us (e.g., bankruptcy filings, substantial downgrading of credit scores), we record a specific reserve for bad debts against amounts due to reduce the net recognized receivable to the amount we reasonably believe we will collect. If circumstances change (i.e. higher than expected defaults or an unexpected material adverse change in a major customer’s ability to meet its financial obligations to us), our estimates of the recoverability of amounts due to us could be reduced by a material amount.

Operating Results

Overview

The recent reorganization of our activities into three divisions clarified our vision and enhanced our financial reporting of our three businesses HIFU, ESWL and Distribution. This new structure also allows for an improved measurement of our business progress.

Total revenues of the Company include sales of our medical devices and sales of disposables (“sales of goods”), sales of RPPs and leases, and sales of spare parts and services, all net of commissions, as well as other revenues.

Sales of goods have historically been comprised of net sales of medical devices (HIFU devices, ESWL lithotripters and other third-parties devices) and net sales of disposables (mostly Ablapaks and Focalpaks in the HIFU division, electrodes in the ESWL division and disposables from third-parties’ devices marketing by the Distribution division). The sale price of our medical devices is subject to variation based on a number of factors, including market competition, warranties and payment terms. Consequently, a particular sale of a medical device may, depending on its terms, result in significant fluctuations in the average unit sale price of the product for a given period, which may not be indicative of a market trend.

Sales of RPP and leases mainly include the revenues recording in the HIFU division from the sale of Ablatherm and Focal One treatment procedures and from the leasing of Ablatherm and Focal One devices. We provide Ablatherm and Focal One devices to clinics and hospitals for free for a limited period, rather than selling the devices. These hospitals and clinics perform treatments using the devices and usually pay us based on the number of individual treatments provided. With this business model, the hospital or clinic does not make an initial investment until the increase in patient demand justifies the purchase of a HIFU device. Consequently, we are able to make Ablatherm or Focal One treatments available to a larger number of hospitals and clinics, which we believe should serve to create more long-term interest in the product. Compared to the sale of devices, this business model initially generates a smaller, although more predictable stream of revenue and, if successful, should lead to more purchases of Ablatherm and Focal One devices by hospitals and clinics in the long term.

Regarding sales of lithotripters as recorded in our ESWL division, we believe that the market for ESWL lithotripters is now mature and has become primarily a replacement and maintenance market, with intense competition. As a result, we expect total market volumes for our ESWL Division to remain stable in the foreseeable future. In addition, following the discontinuation of our Sonolith i-sys lithotripter in 2020 and of our developments in lithotripsy, including the development of our Endo-UP platform, our ESWL revenues will be mainly stemming from sales of Sonolith i-move lithotripters as well as revenues from sales of maintenance contracts and spare parts.

Revenues recorded in our Distribution division include sales of complementary products such as lasers, micro-ultrasound systems and other products from third parties, including the associated disposables and maintenance contracts.

Sales of spare parts and services include revenues arising from maintenance services furnished by us for the installed base of ESWL lithotripters, HIFU devices and complementary products from third parties.

We derive a significant portion of both net sales of medical devices and disposables and net sales of spare parts and services from our operations in Asia, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries or representative offices in Japan (Edap Technomed Co. Ltd), Malaysia (Edap Technomed Sdh Bhd) and South Korea (Edap Technomed Korea). Net sales derived from our operations in Asia represented 38% of our total consolidated net sales in 2020. Net sales of goods in Asia represented 43% of such sales in 2020 and consisted mainly of sales of urology devices and disposables. Net sales of spare parts, supplies and services in Asia represented 39% of such sales in 2020 and related primarily to ESWL lithotripters, reflecting the fact that 51% of the installed base of our ESWL lithotripters that we actively maintain or otherwise serve is located in Asia. See Note 18 of our consolidated financial statements. We sell our products in many parts of the world and, as a result, our business is affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. We are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk because the mix of currencies in which our costs are denominated is different from the mix of currencies in

36

Table of Contents

which we earn revenues. In 2020, 74% of our costs of sales and research and development, selling, marketing and general and administrative expenses were denominated in euro, while 49% of our sales were denominated in currencies other than euro (primarily the U.S. Dollar and Japanese yen). Our operating profitability could be materially affected by large fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the euro and such other currencies. To minimize our exposure to exchange rate risks, we sometimes use certain financial instruments for hedging purposes. See Item 3, ‘‘Risk Factors—We sell our products in many parts of the world and, as a result, our business is affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates’’ and Item 11, ‘‘Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk’’ for a description of the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on our business and results of operations.

Reserves for slow-moving and obsolete inventory are determined based upon quarterly reviews of all inventory items. Items which are not expected to be sold or used in production, based on management’s analysis, are written down to their net realizable value, which is their fair market value or zero in the case of spare parts or disposable parts for devices that are no longer in commercial production.

Consolidated research and development expenses include all costs related to the development of new technologies and products and the enhancement of existing products, including the costs of organizing clinical trials and of obtaining patents and regulatory approvals. We do not capitalize any of our research and development expenses, except for the expenses relating to the production of machines to be used in clinical trials and that have alternative future uses as equipment or components for future research projects.

Consolidated research and development expenses, as described above, amounted to €4.5 million, €3.7 million and €4.1 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, representing 10.8%, 8.3% and 10.4% of total revenues in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Research and development government grants and tax credits are deducted from our consolidated research and development expenses for amounts of €0.7 million, €1.0 million and €0.8 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Research and development expenses included net impact of allowances for depreciation of prototypes and parts in inventory of €0.5 million in 2020, following the decision to discontinue the Endo-Up platform program. Beginning in 2021, management expects the budget for research and development expenses to increase at 11.5% of total revenues, which we expect will allow us to maintain our strategy to launch new clinical studies (thus strengthening our clinical credibility), to continue to focus our efforts on obtaining regulatory approvals in Japan in particular, and to build reimbursement coverage in key countries and particularly in the U.S., to continue to develop our HIFU product range and to fund projects to expand the use of HIFU beyond the treatment of prostate cancer.

Consolidated selling and marketing expenses amounted to €9.3 million in 2020, €10.9 million in 2019 and €10.6 million in 2018. Selling and marketing expenses included net impact of allowances for doubtful accounts of €0.1 million in 2020, €0.1 million in 2019 and €0.4 million in 2018. The €1.6 million or 14.5% decrease in selling and marketing expenses from 2019 to 2020 was primarily a result of the decrease in global sales and marketing activity in a COVID-19 context (cancelation of congresses, limitation of business trips, etc.). Management expects marketing and sales efforts to get back to higher levels as soon as the sanitary situation returns to normal and in the future to consolidate the HIFU technology’s status as a standard of care for prostate pathologies, and to sustain the Company’s worldwide market position in urology. Beginning in 2021, management expects selling and marketing expenses to increase in connection with the acceleration of HIFU adoption in the U.S.

The novel COVID-19 virus which has profoundly impacted the whole worldwide economy in 2020 represents a new challenge for us all. We continue to closely monitor the situation and have implemented numerous precautions and protective measures to safeguard our employees and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of our devices and disposables, including requiring the majority of our employees to work remotely, adjusting supply chain activity and curtailing all business travel. In the near term, we expect this situation to continue to cause decreased activity in our recurring usual business activity with some cancellations of ESWL and HIFU treatments. We also anticipate that device sales projects may be postponed on a near-term basis as hospital purchase and investment decisions are put on hold. However, our sales cycles are long and we have in inventory several devices and accessories that are ready to be shipped when order activity resumes. The Company therefore believes to be well positioned to resume delivery activities as soon as that becomes possible. Importantly, in this unique and unknown global crisis, EDAP has a solid cash position, which is expected to minimize disruption to the extent possible. See Item 3. ‘‘Risk Factors” and “—Liquidity and Capital Resources.’’

37

Table of Contents

Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2019

We report our segment information on a “net contribution” basis. See Note 29 to our consolidated financial statements.

​

​

Total revenues

Our total revenues decreased 7.2% from €44.9 million in 2019 to €41.7 million in 2020.

HIFU division.

The HIFU division’s total revenues decreased by 19.1% from €14.1 million in 2019 to €11.4 million in 2020, reflecting the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on both procedure volumes and equipment sales.

The HIFU division’s net sales of medical devices decreased 22.7% to €4.5 million in 2020, with two Ablatherm units and ten Focal One units sold, as compared to €5.9 million, with two Ablatherm units and eleven Focal One units sold in 2019.

Treatment-driven revenue, which includes net sales of RPP & leases, net sales of disposables and treatments related services, decreased by 20.1% to €5.6 million in 2020.

Net sales of HIFU maintenance services increased from €1.2 million in 2019 to €1.3 million in 2020 thanks to the increase of the installed base under contract after the warranty period.

Other HIFU-related revenues decreased to €12 thousand in 2020 from €52 thousand in 2019 and were comprised of license-based revenues from Theraclion and training to customers.

ESWL division.

The ESWL division’s total revenues decreased 9.2% from €14.2 million in 2019 to €12.9 million in 2020, primarily due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both procedure volumes and equipment sales.

The ESWL division’s net sales of medical devices decreased 4.9% from €5.4 million in 2019 to €5.2 million in 2020 with 33 ESWL devices sold in 2020 compared to 28 ESWL units sold in 2019 due to a change in the mix of products.

Net sales of ESWL-related consumables, spare parts, supplies, RPP, leasing and services decreased 11.9% from €8.7 million in 2019 to €7.7 million in 2020.

Distribution division.

The Distribution division’s total revenues increased 4.6% from €16.6 million in 2019 to €17.3 million in 2020, primarily due to the development of Exact Imaging sales and in spite of the adverse impact of the sanitary crisis on the company’s activities.

The Distribution division’s net sales of medical devices slightly decreased 2.8% from €10.9 million in 2019 to €10.6 million in 2020.

Net sales of Distribution-related consumables, spare parts, supplies, RPP, leasing and services increased 18.7% from €5.7 million in 2019 to €6.8 million in 2020 due to the increase of the installed base under contract after the warranty period.

38

Table of Contents

Cost of sales.

Cost of sales decreased 2.6% from €23.9 million in 2019 to €23.3 million in 2020, and represented 55.9% as a percentage of net sales in 2020, up from 53.3% as a percentage of net sales in 2019. This effect is driven primarily by the decrease in the percentage of HIFU revenue to overall revenue (since HIFU activity has better margin than the former UDS division that combined both ESWL and Distribution); and the effect of the decrease of net sales on the fixed costs.

Operating expenses.

Operating expenses decreased 3.7%, or €0.7 million, from €18.8 million in 2019 to €18.1 million in 2020.

Marketing and sales expenses decreased €1.6 million, or 14.5% to €9.3 million in 2020, reflecting the slowdown in sales and marketing activities in the COVID-19 context.

Research and development expenses increased 20.6% at €4.5 million in 2020 from €3.7 million in 2019, which included non-recurring Endo-up platform program discontinuation cost of €0.5 million, and are net of R&D grants and tax credits of €0.7 million in 2020, €1.0 million in 2019.

General and administrative expenses increased 2.6% to €4.3 million in 2020. General and administrative expenses included net impact of allowances for contingencies linked to bank fraud of €0.1 million in 2020

Operating profit (loss).

As a result of the factors discussed above, we recorded a consolidated operating income of €0.3 million in 2020, as compared to a consolidated operating income of €2.2 million in 2019.

We realized an operating loss in the HIFU division of €0.4 million in 2020, as compared with an operating profit of €0.5 million in 2019, an operating profit in the ESWL division of €1.1 million in 2020, as compared to an operating profit of €1.6 million in 2019, and an operating profit in the Distribution division of €1.1 million in 2020, as compared to an operating profit of €1.4 million in 2019.

Financial (expense) income, net.

Net financial expense was €0.1 million in 2020, compared with a net financial expense of €0.1 million in 2019.

Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net.

In 2020, we recorded a net foreign currency exchange loss of €1.4 million, mainly due to the variation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar, compared to an income of €0.1 million in 2019.

Income taxes.

Income tax was an expense of €0.5 million in 2020, compared to an expense of 0.7 million in 2019, reflecting the decrease of the Income before taxes

Net income / (loss).

As a result of the above, we realized a consolidated net loss of €1.7 million in 2020 compared with a consolidated net income of €1.5 million in 2019.

39

Table of Contents

Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2018

We report our segment information on a “net contribution” basis, so that each segment’s results comprise the elimination of our intra-group revenues and expenses and thus reflect the true contribution to consolidated results of the segment. See Note 29 to our consolidated financial statements.

​

Total revenues

Our total revenues increased 14.6% from €39.2 million in 2018 to €44.9 million in 2019.

HIFU division. The HIFU division’s total revenues increased by 28.1% from €11.0 million in 2018 to €14.1 million in 2019.

The HIFU division’s net sales of medical devices increased 63.8% to €5.9 million in 2019, with two Ablatherm units and eleven Focal One units sold, as compared to €3.6 million, with one Ablatherm and six Focal One units sold in 2018. This growth is primarily driven by the U.S. market activity since we sold nine HIFU devices in the U.S. in 2019 as compared to two in 2018.

Treatment-driven revenue, which includes net sales of RPP & leases, net sales of disposables and treatments related services, increased by 15.3% to €7.0 million in 2019.

Net sales of HIFU maintenance services slightly decreased from €1.3 million in 2018 to €1.2 million in 2019 in spite of the increase of the installed base, since new sold machines are still under warranty.

Other HIFU-related revenues increased to €52 thousand in 2019 from €19 thousand in 2018 and were comprised of license-based revenues from Theraclion and training to customers.

ESWL division. The ESWL division’s total revenues decreased 2.0 % from €14.5 million in 2018 to €14.2 million in 2019, mostly due to the decrease in medical devices revenues.

The ESWL division’s net sales of medical devices decreased 7.6% from €5.9 million in 2018 to €5.4 million in 2019 with 28 ESWL devices sold in 2019 compared to 33 ESWL units sold in 2018.

Net sales of ESWL-related consumables, spare parts, supplies, RPP, leasing and services slightly increased 1.9% from €8.6 million in 2018 to €8.7 million in 2019.

Distribution division. The Distribution division’s total revenues increased 21.4 % from €13.7 million in 2018 to €16.6 million in 2019, mostly due to the increase in distribution products both in machines and consumables revenues.

The Distribution division’s net sales of medical devices increased 15.0% from €9.5 million in 2018 to €10.9 million in 2019. The increase was primarily driven by the growth in the sales of lasers in Japan.

Net sales of Distribution-related consumables, spare parts, supplies, RPP, leasing and services increased 35.7% from €4.2 million in 2018 to €5.7 million in 2019, as a result of the growing installed base of distribution machines.

40

Table of Contents

Cost of sales.

Cost of sales increased 7.4% from €22.3 million in 2018 to €23.9 million in 2019, and represented 53.3% as a percentage of net sales in 2019, down from 56.9% as a percentage of net sales in 2018. This improvement is driven primarily by the increase in the percentage of HIFU revenue to overall revenue (since HIFU activity has better margin than the former UDS division that combined both ESWL and Distribution); and the effect of the increase of net sales on the fixed costs.

Operating expenses.

Operating expenses increased 3.1%, or €0.6 million, from €18.2 million in 2018 to €18.8 million in 2019.

Marketing and sales expenses increased €0.3 million, or 2.8% at €10.9 million, reflecting the sales and marketing efforts on expanding the business.

Research and development expenses decreased 8.8% at €3.7 million in 2019 from €4.1 million in 2018, which included regulatory expenses for the Focal One clearance in the U.S., and are net of R&D grants and tax credits of €1.0 million in 2019 and €0.8 million 2018.

General and administrative expenses increased 17.6% to €4.2 million in 2019, mainly due to the higher level of activity and the implementation of the SAP program.

Operating profit (loss).

As a result of the factors discussed above, we recorded a consolidated operating income of €2.2 million in 2019, as compared to a consolidated operating loss of €1.3 million in 2018.

We realized an operating profit in the HIFU division of €0.5 million in 2019, as compared with an operating loss of €2.3 million in 2018, an operating profit in the ESWL division of €1.1 million in 2019, as compared to an operating profit of €1.8 million in 2018, and an operating profit in the Distribution division of €1.1 million in 2019, as compared to an operating profit of €0.5 million in 2018.

Financial (expense) income, net.

Net financial expense was €0.1 million in 2019, compared with a net financial income of €0.8 million in 2018, including a €0.9 million income due to fair value adjustments of warrants. There were no more outstanding warrants at the end of 2018 and 2019.

Foreign currency exchange gain (loss), net.

In 2019, we recorded a net foreign currency exchange income of €0.1 million, mainly due to the variation of the Euro against the U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen, compared to an income of €0.5 million in 2018.

Income taxes.

Income tax was an expense of €0.7 million in 2019, compared to an expense of 0.4 million in 2018, reflecting the growth of the Income before taxes

Net income / (loss).

As a result of the above, we realized a consolidated net income of €1.5 million in 2019 compared with a consolidated net loss of €0.3 million in 2018.

Effect of Inflation

Management believes that the impact of inflation was not material to our net sales or loss from operations in the three years ended December 31, 2020.

41

Table of Contents

receivables and inventories, and therefore led to significant variations in working capital requirements and operating cash flows that were not necessarily indicative of changes in our business. We believe our working capital is sufficient for our present working capital requirements although we have in the past experienced negative cash flows and associated risks to liquidity, and may in the future experience the same. Our cash flow situation is described in more detail below.

We anticipate that cash flow in future periods will be derived mainly from ongoing operations. As of the date of this annual report we do not employ any off-balance sheet financing. Because we anticipate relying principally on cash and cash equivalent balances to meet our liquidity requirements, a decrease in the demand for our products, or the inability of our customers to meet their financial obligations to us due to operating difficulties or adverse market conditions, would reduce the availability of funds to us. As our expansion plans in the United States are implemented, we anticipate additional capital resources may be needed to implement our strategy.

​

Our cash position as of December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, was €24.7 million (with no short-term treasury investments), €20.9 million (with no short-term treasury investments) and €19.5 million (with no short-term treasury investments), respectively. We experienced positive cash flows of €3.8 million in 2020, positive cash flows of €1.4 million in 2019 and negative cash flows of €0.5 million in 2018.

In 2020, our positive net cash flow was primarily due to net cash generated by financing activities which included COVID-related assistance loans for €4.6 million. In 2019, our positive net cash flow was primarily due to the high level of cash generated by operating activities, partly offset by cash used in investing activities and net cash used in financing activities which included a repayment of long term borrowing (€1.1 million). In 2018, our negative net cash flow was primarily due to the high level of cash used in investing activities partly offset by net cash generated by financing activities which included the new Long Term debt (€1.0 million) granted during the year.

In 2020, net cash generated by operating activities was €2.0 million compared with net cash generated by operating activities of €3.8 million in 2019, and compared with net cash generated by operating activities of €0.2 million in 2018.

In 2020, net cash generated by operating activities reflected principally:

​

In 2019, net cash generated by operating activities reflected principally:

​

In 2018, net cash generated by operating activities reflected principally:

42

Table of Contents

​

In 2020, net cash used in investing activities was €2.0 million compared with net cash used in investing activities of €1.5 million in 2019 and compared with net cash used in investing activities of €1.6 million in 2018.

Net cash used in investing activities of €2.0 million in 2020 reflected mainly:

​

Net cash used in investing activities of €1.5 million in 2019 reflected mainly:

​

Net cash used in investing activities of €1.6 million in 2018 reflected:

​

In 2020, net cash generated in financing activities was €3.2 million compared with net cash used in financing activities of €0.7 million in 2019 compared with net cash generated in financing activities of €1.2 million in 2018.

Net cash generated in financing activities of €3.2 million in 2020 reflected principally the net proceeds of €0.1 million from the exercise of stock options, new long terms borrowings for €4.8 million (mainly composed of COVID-19 government assistance programs: € 4.0 million guaranteed by the French government, €0.4 million from Japan and €0.2 million from the U.S. Paycheck Protection Program), the repayments of long-term borrowings and financing lease for €0.8 million and a decrease of short-term borrowings of €0.9 million.

Net cash used in financing activities of €0.7 million in 2019 reflected principally the net proceeds of €0.3 million from the exercise of stock options, the new long term borrowings of €0.7 million in Japan, the repayments of long-term borrowings and financing lease for €1.5 million (including €0.7 million of early repayment in Japan) and a decrease of short-term borrowings of €0.2 million.

Net cash generated in financing activities of €1.1 million in 2018 reflected principally the new long term borrowings of €1.0 million in Germany and Japan, repayment of long-term borrowings and lease financing for €0.8 million and an increase of short-term borrowings of €0.9 million.

Our policy is that our treasury department should maintain liquidity with the use of short-term borrowings and the minimal use of long-term borrowings. The treasury department currently adheres to this objective by using fixed-rate debt, which normally consists of long-term borrowing and with certain long-term borrowings consisting of sale and leaseback equipment financing. Currently the short-term debt consists of account receivables factored and for which the Company is supporting the collection risk. We maintain bank accounts for each of our subsidiaries in the local currencies of each subsidiary. The primary currencies in which we maintain balances are the euro, the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. To minimize our exposure to exchange rate risks, we may use certain financial instruments for hedging purposes from time to time. As of December 31, 2020, there were no outstanding hedging instruments. See Notes 13 and 14 to the consolidated financial statements for further information on our borrowings.

43

Table of Contents

Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments as of December 31, 2020 (in thousands of euros)

​

​

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See “Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies —1.25 Recent Accounting Pronouncements” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of recent accounting pronouncements including the respective expected dates of adoption and estimated effects, if any, on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Research and Development, Patents and Licenses

See Item 5, “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Operating Results—Overview” and Item 4, ‘‘Information on the Company—HIFU Division—HIFU Division Patents and Intellectual Property’’ and ‘‘Information on the Company—ESWL Division—ESWL Division Patents and Intellectual Property.’’

The French government provides tax credits to companies for innovative research and development. This tax credit is calculated based on a percentage of eligible research and development costs and it can be refundable in cash.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

At December 31, 2020, we had no off-balance sheet arrangements.

​

44

Table of Contents

Board of Directors

The following table sets forth the names and backgrounds of the members of the Board of Directors. On March 25, 2020, the Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Mr. Philippe Chauveau as Chairman of the Board and, upon the recommendation of the Company’s Nomination Committee, the Board decided to combine the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, as permitted by the Company’s by-laws, and elected Mr. Marc Oczachowski as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors. None of the directors has service contracts with the Company or any of its subsidiaries providing for benefits upon termination of employment (except for those related to Mr. Oczachowski’s position as Chief Executive Officer, provided under his employment agreement). Four Board members out of five are independent within the meaning of NASDAQ Marketplace Rule 5605(2). The mandate of four of our Directors was renewed for a new period of six years at the General Meeting of Shareholders held on June 30, 2020 approving the accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2019. Their mandate will expire at the end of the ordinary general meeting of

45

Table of Contents

shareholders which will approve the accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2025, i.e., in the course of 2026. On June 30, 2020, Ms. Marie Meynadier was elected as independent Director in replacement of Mr. Philippe Chauveau.

​

46

Table of Contents

Compensation

Aggregate compensation paid or accrued for services in all capacities by the Company and its subsidiaries to Senior Executive Officers and to the Board of Directors as a group for the fiscal year 2020 was €536 thousand including performance bonuses of €99 thousand and benefits in kind of €9 thousand (benefits in kind comprise car allowances for senior management). No amount was set aside or accrued by us to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits for Senior Executive Officers and to the Board of Directors as a group in respect of the year 2020. For information regarding compensation paid in the form of stock options, see “Directors, Senior Management and Employees -- Share Ownership” and “Directors, Senior Management and Employees -- Options to Purchase or Subscribe for Securities.”

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee is comprised of the following independent members: Mr. Pierre Beysson, Dr. Argil Wheelock, Ms. Marie Meynadier and Mr. Rob Michiels. The Committee gathers once a year to review the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer, as per the approved charter of the Compensation Committee, and to propose to the Board of Directors any changes to the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation. The Chief Executive Officer is not present when the Compensation Committee reviews his

47

Table of Contents

compensation. In August 2014, the Compensation Committee updated its charter which was subsequently approved by the Board of Directors.

Audit Committee

The Board of Directors’ Audit Committee comprises four independent members of the Board: Mr. Pierre Beysson, acting as Head of the Audit Committee and financial expert, Ms. Marie Meynadier, Dr. Argil Wheelock and Mr. Rob Michiels. The purpose of the Audit Committee, in accordance with its annually approved charter, is as stated below, but not limited to:

​

​

​

​

​

For more information on the missions of our Audit Committee, please refer to our web site www.edap-tms.com, under the Investor Relations Section, where our Audit Committee Charter is available.

Nomination Committee

The Company’s Board of Directors recommends for the Board’s selection director nominees to submit to the vote of the Company’s shareholders. In addition, under specified circumstances and in accordance with French law, shareholders may also submit resolutions to the general meeting to appoint directors.

The Company’s nominations practice is formalized in a Board resolution and at its Board meeting in February 2015, the Board resolved that in the event that one or more directors is or are no longer independent, the Board will create a Nominations Committee (composed exclusively of independent Directors). A Nominations Committee Charter was approved accordingly, the terms of which apply to the Board of Directors when considering director nominees including evaluation of potential candidates, and recommendations to the Board of Directors prior to submitting the candidates to the vote of shareholders. As per this Charter, upon the appointment of Mr. Marc Oczachowski to the Board as a non-independent Director, on June 30, 2017, the Board of Directors, was convened on July 10, 2017, and decided to create a Nomination Committee composed exclusively of independent Directors. The Nomination Committee is comprised of the following independent members: Mr. Pierre Beysson, Dr. Argil Wheelock, Ms. Marie Meynadier and Mr. Rob Michiels.

Strategic Committee

On August 26, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors created a Strategic Committee which duties are to address the development and implementation of the Company’s strategic plan and the risks associated with such plan. Such responsibility has been further formalized by a charter approved by the Board of Directors. The Strategic committee is composed of the following members: Ms. Marie Meynadier, independent Director and Head of the Committee, and Mr. Marc Oczachowski, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.

48

Table of Contents

As of December 31, 2019, we employed 216 individuals on a full-time basis, as follows:

​

As of December 31, 2018, we employed 215 individuals on a full-time basis, as follows:

​

Management considers labor relations to be good. Employee benefits are in line with those specified by applicable government regulations.

Share Ownership

As of March 30, 2021, the total number of shares issued was 29,488,564 with 292,428 shares held as treasury shares, thus bringing the total number of shares outstanding to 29,196,136.

As of March 30, 2021, the Board of Directors and the Senior Executive Officers of the Company held a total of 77,804 Shares. The Board of Directors and Senior Executive Officers beneficially own, in the aggregate less than 1% of the Company’s shares.

As of March 30, 2021, Senior Executive Officers held a total of 32,001 Shares and an aggregate of 540,000 options to purchase or to subscribe a total of 540,000 ordinary shares, with a weighted average exercise price of €2.78 per share. Of these options, 200,000 expire on January 18, 2023, 220,000 expire on April 26, 2026, 55,000 expire on April 25, 2027, 25,000 expire on August 29, 2028 and 40,000 expire on April 4, 2029.

Options to Purchase or Subscribe for Securities

On December 19, 2012, the shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to grant up to 500,000 options to subscribe to 500,000 new shares at a fixed price to be set by the Board of Directors.

On February 18, 2016, the shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to grant up to 1,000,000 options to subscribe to 1,000,000 new shares at a fixed price to be set by the Board of Directors.

On June 28, 2019, the shareholders authorized the Board of Directors to grant up to a maximum of 358,528 options to purchase pre-existing shares at a fixed price to be set by the Board of Directors. All of the shares that may be purchased through the exercise of stock options are currently held as treasury stock. On June 28, 2019, the shareholders also authorized the Board of Directors to grant up

49

Table of Contents

to 1 million options to subscribe to 1 million new shares at a fixed price to be set by the Board of Directors. No options were granted under these two plans as of March 30, 2021.

As of March 30, 2021, we had sponsored three stock purchase and subscription option plans open to employees of EDAP TMS group.

On December 31, 2020, the expiration of our stock option contracts was as follows:

​

As of December 31, 2020, a summary of stock option activity to purchase or to subscribe to shares under these plans is as follows:

​

The following table summarizes information about options to purchase existing shares held by the Company, or to subscribe to new Shares, as of December 31, 2020:

​

​

​

50

Table of Contents

51

Table of Contents

Export Sales

As of December 31, 2020, total consolidated export net sales, which we define as sales made outside of mainland France, were €31.6 million, which represented 76% of total net sales.

As part of our business, we are engaged in sales and marketing activities with hospitals, clinics, distributors or agents in countries on a worldwide basis where we can provide our minimally invasive therapeutic solutions to patients with prostate cancer or urinary stones. The following information complies with the sub-section “Disclosure of Certain Activities Relating to Iran” of the Section 13 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended: in 2015 we honored warranty contracts on previous sales of lithotripsy devices to three Iranian public hospitals in order to provide the hospitals with the necessary disposables and services to treat patients with kidney stones using our devices. As part of these warranty commitments, we did not invoice any medical equipment to the hospitals in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

52

Table of Contents

Our by-laws were updated on June 30, 2020 to reflect French legal provisions recently implemented and on March 30, 2021 to reflect the latest increases in share capital related to the issuance of additional shares following the exercise of warrants and options.

Corporate Purposes

Pursuant to Article 2 of the by-laws, the corporate purpose of the Company is:

​

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is currently composed of five members, four of which were appointed by the shareholders for a period of six years expiring on the date of the annual general shareholders’ meeting approving the accounts for fiscal year 2025. Mr. Marc Oczachowski, Chief Executive Officer, and newly elected Chairman of the Board as of March 25, 2020, was appointed director of the Company by the shareholders on June 30, 2017, effective July 1, 2017, for a period of six years expiring on the date of the annual general shareholders’ meeting approving the accounts for the fiscal year 2022. See Item 6, ‘‘Directors, Senior Management and Employees.’’ A director’s term ends at the end of the ordinary general shareholders” meeting convened to vote on the accounts of the then-preceding fiscal year and held in the year during which the term of such director comes to an end. Directors may be re-elected; a director may also be dismissed at any time at the shareholders’ meeting.

An individual person may not be a member of more than five Boards of Directors or Supervisory Boards in corporations (société anonyme) registered in France; directorships held in controlled companies (as defined by Section L.233-16 of the French Commercial Code) by the Company are not taken into account.

In the event of the death or resignation of one or more directors, the Board of Directors may make provisional appointments to fill vacancies before the next general shareholders’ meetings. These provisional appointments must be ratified by the next ordinary shareholders meeting. Even if a provisional appointment is not ratified, resolutions and acts previously approved by the Board of Directors nonetheless remain valid.

If the number of Directors falls below the compulsory legal minimum, the remaining directors must immediately convene an ordinary general shareholders’ meeting to reach a full Board of Directors.

Any director appointed in replacement of another director whose term has not expired remains in office only for the remaining duration of the term of his predecessor.

One of our employees may be appointed to serve as a director. His/her employment contract must include actual work obligations. In this case, he/she does not lose the benefit of his/her employment contract.

The number of directors that have employment contracts with the Company may not exceed one third of the directors then in office and in any case, a maximum of five members.

Pursuant to our by-laws, a director may not be over eighty-five years old. If a director reaches this age limit during his/her term, such director is automatically considered to have resigned at the next general shareholders meeting.

A director cannot borrow money from the Company.

The Board of Directors determines the direction of our business and supervises its implementation. Within the limits set out by the corporate purposes and the powers expressly granted by law to the general shareholders’ meeting, the Board of Directors may deliberate upon our operations and make any decisions in accordance with our business. A director must abstain from voting on matters

53

Table of Contents

in which the director has an interest. The resolutions passed in a meeting of the Board of Directors are valid only if a quorum of half of the Directors is reached.

French law provides that the functions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in a French société anonyme may be distinct and held by two separate individuals or combined. The choice between these two methods of management belongs to the Board of Directors and must be made pursuant to our by-laws and applicable French law.

The Chairman of the Board

The Board of Directors must elect one of its members as Chairman of the Board of Directors, who must be an individual. The Board of Directors determines the duration of the term of the Chairman, which cannot exceed that of his/her tenure as a director. The Board of Directors may revoke the Chairman at any time. The Chairman’s compensation is determined by the Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the Compensation Committee.

The Chairman represents the Board of Directors and organizes its work. The Chairman reports on the Board’s behalf to the general shareholders’ meeting. The Chairman is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of our governing bodies and that the Board members have the means to perform their duties.

Pursuant to Section 706-43 of the French Criminal Proceedings Code, the Chairman may validly delegate to any person he/she chooses the power to represent us in any criminal proceedings that we may face.

As with any other director, the Chairman may not be over eighty-five years old. In case the Chairman reaches this age limit during his/her tenure, he/she will automatically be considered to have resigned. However, his/her tenure is extended until the next Board of Directors meeting, during which his/her successor will be appointed. Subject to the age limit provision, the Chairman of the Board may also be re-elected.

The Chief Executive Officer

We are managed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or by an individual elected by the Board of Directors bearing the title of Chief Executive Officer. On March 31, 2007, the Board of Directors appointed Mr. Marc Oczachowski as Chief Executive Officer and on March 25, 2020, the Board of Directors decided to combine the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, as allowed by the Company’s by-laws, and elected Mr. Marc Oczachowski as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The Chief Executive Officer is vested with the powers to act under all circumstances on behalf of the Company, within the limits set out by the Company’s corporate purposes, and subject to the powers expressly granted by the law to the Board of Directors and the general shareholders’ meeting.

The Chief Executive Officer represents the Company with respect to third parties. The Company is bound by any acts of the Chief Executive Officer even if they are contrary to corporate purposes, unless it is proven that the third party knew such act exceeded the Company’s corporate purposes or could not ignore it in light of the circumstances. Publication of the by-laws alone is not sufficient evidence of such knowledge.

The Chief Executive Officer’s compensation is set by the Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the Compensation Committee. The Chief Executive Officer can be revoked at any time by the Board of Directors. If such termination is found to be unjustified, damages may be allocated to the Chief Executive Officer, except when the Chief Executive Officer is also the Chairman of the Board.

The Chief Executive Officer may not hold another position as Chief Executive Officer or member of a Supervisory Board in a corporation (société anonyme) registered in France except when (a) such company is controlled (as referred to in Section L.233-16 of the French Commercial Code) by the Company and (b) when this controlled company’s shares are not traded on a regulated market.

Pursuant to our by-laws, the Chief Executive Officer may not be over seventy years old. In case the Chief Executive Officer reaches this age limit during his/her office, he/she is automatically considered to have resigned. However, his/her tenure is extended until the next Board of Directors meeting, during which his/her successor must be appointed.

54

Table of Contents

Dividend and Liquidation Rights (French Law)

Net income in each fiscal year, increased or reduced, as the case may be, by any profit or loss of the Company carried forward from prior years, less any contributions to legal reserves, is available for distribution to our shareholders as dividends, subject to the requirements of French law and our by-laws.

Under French law, we are required to allocate at least 5% of our unconsolidated net profits in each fiscal year to a legal reserve fund before dividends may be paid with respect to that year. Such allocation is compulsory until the amount in such reserve fund is equal to 10% of the nominal amount of the registered capital. The legal reserve is distributable only upon the liquidation of the Company.

Our shareholders may, upon recommendation of the Board of Directors, decide to allocate all or a part of distributable profits, if any, among special or general reserves, to carry them forward to the next fiscal year as retained earnings, or to allocate them to the shareholders as dividends.

Our by-laws provide that, if so agreed by the shareholders, reserves that are available for distribution under French law and our by-laws may be distributed as dividends, subject to certain limitations.

If we have made distributable profits since the end of the preceding fiscal year (as shown on an interim income statement certified by our statutory auditors), the Board of Directors has the authority under French law, without the approval of shareholders, to distribute interim dividends to the extent of such distributable profits. We have never paid interim dividends.

Under French law, dividends are distributed to shareholders pro rata according to their respective shareholdings. Dividends are payable to holders of shares outstanding on the date of the annual shareholders’ meeting deciding the distribution of dividends, or in the case of interim dividends, on the date of the Board of Directors meeting approving the distribution of interim dividends. However, holders of newly issued shares may have their rights to dividends limited with respect to certain fiscal years. The actual dividend payment date is decided by the shareholders in an ordinary general meeting or by the Board of Directors in the absence of such a decision by the shareholders. The payment of the dividends must occur within nine months from the end of our fiscal year. Under French law, dividends not claimed within five years of the date of payment revert to the French State.

If the Company is liquidated, our assets remaining after payment of our debts, liquidation expenses and all of our remaining obligations will be distributed first to repay in full the nominal value of the shares, then the surplus, if any, will be distributed pro rata among the shareholders based on the nominal value of their shareholdings and subject to any special rights granted to holders of priority shares, if any. Shareholders are liable for corporate liabilities only up to the par value of the shares they hold and are not liable to further capital calls of the Company.

Changes in Share Capital (French Law)

Our share capital may be increased only with the approval of two thirds of the shareholders voting or represented at an extraordinary general meeting, following a recommendation of the Board of Directors. Increases in the share capital may be effected either by the issuance of additional shares (including the creation of a new class of shares) or by an increase in the nominal value of existing shares or by the exercise of rights attached to securities giving access to the share capital. Additional Shares may be issued for cash or for assets contributed in kind, upon the conversion of debt securities previously issued by the Company, by capitalization of reserves, or, subject to certain conditions, by way of offset against indebtedness incurred by the Company. Dividends paid in the form of shares may be distributed in lieu of payment of cash dividends, as described above under ‘‘—Dividend and Liquidation Rights (French law).’’ French law permits different classes of shares to have liquidation, voting and dividend rights different from those of the outstanding ordinary shares, although we only have one class of shares.

Our share capital may be decreased only with the approval of two thirds of the shareholders voting or represented at an extraordinary general meeting. The share capital may be reduced either by decreasing the nominal value of the shares or by reducing the number of outstanding shares. The conditions under which the registered capital may be reduced will vary depending upon whether or not the reduction is attributable to losses incurred by the Company. The number of outstanding shares may be reduced either by an exchange of shares or by the repurchase and cancellation by the Company of its shares. Under French law, all the shareholders in each class of shares must be treated equally unless the inequality in treatment is accepted by the affected shareholder. If the reduction is not attributable to losses incurred by us, each shareholder will be offered an opportunity to participate in such capital reduction and may decide whether or not to participate therein.

55

Table of Contents

Repurchase of Shares (French Law)

Pursuant to French law, the Company, as a company whose shares are not admitted to trading on a regulated market subject to the provisions of Article L. 433-3 II of the French Monetary and Financial Code, may not acquire its own shares except (a) to reduce its share capital under certain circumstances with the approval of the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting, (b) to provide shares for distribution to employees under a profit sharing or a stock option plan, (c) to offer shares as payment in exchange for assets acquired by the Company in the context of an external growth, merger, demerger or contribution transaction or (d) to provide shares to shareholders as part of a sale procedure organized by the Company. However, the Company may not hold more than 10% of its shares then-issued and 5% for a repurchase of shares to offer them as payment or in exchange for assets acquired by the Company in the context of an external growth, merger, demerger or contribution transaction. A subsidiary of the Company is prohibited by French law from holding shares of the Company and, in the event it becomes a shareholder of the Company, such shareholder must transfer all the shares of the Company that it holds.

Attendance and Voting at Shareholders’ Meetings (French Law)

In accordance with French law, there are two types of general shareholders’ meetings, ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary general meetings are required for matters such as the election of directors, the appointment of statutory auditors, the approval of the report prepared by the Board of Directors, the annual accounts and the declaration of dividends.

Extraordinary general meetings are required for approval of matters such as amendments to the Company’s by-laws, modification of shareholders’ rights, approval of mergers, increases or decreases in share capital (including a waiver of preferential subscription rights), the creation of a new class of shares, the authorization of the issuance of investment certificates or securities convertible or exchangeable into shares and for the sale or transfer of substantially all of the Company’s assets.

The Board of Directors is required to convene an annual ordinary general shareholders’ meeting, which must be held within six months of the end of our fiscal year, for approval of the annual accounts. Article 4 of Order no. 2020-321 of March 25, 2020, Adapting the Rules for Meetings and Deliberations of the Meetings and Governing Bodies of French Legal Entities and Entities without Legal Personality under Private Law due to the COVID-19 Epidemic, as amended by Decree  no. 2021-255 of March 9, 2021, provides that the Shareholders’ Meeting may exceptionally be held ‘‘behind closed doors’’ without the shareholders and other persons entitled to attend being physically present. These provisions are applicable until July 31, 2021.

Other ordinary or extraordinary meetings may be convened at any time during the year. Shareholders’ meetings may be convened by the Board of Directors or, if the Board of Directors fails to call such a meeting, by our statutory auditors or by a court-appointed agent. The court may be requested to appoint an agent either by one or more shareholders holding at least 5% of the registered capital or by an interested party under certain circumstances, or, in case of an urgent matter, by the Work Council (Comité Social et Economique) representing the employees. The notice calling a meeting must state the agenda for such meeting.

French law provides that, at least 15 days before the date set for any general meeting on first notice, and at least ten days before the date set for any general meeting on second notice, notice of the meeting (avis de convocation) must be sent by mail to all holders of properly registered shares who have held such shares for more than one month before the date of the notice. A preliminary written notice (avis de réunion) must be sent to each shareholder who has requested to be notified in writing. Under French law, one or several shareholders together holding a specified percentage of shares may propose resolutions to be submitted for approval by the shareholders at the meeting. Upon our request, the Bank of New York Mellon will send to holders of ADSs notices of shareholders’ meetings and other reports and communications that are made generally available to shareholders. The Work Council may also require the registration of resolution proposals on the agenda.

Attendance and exercise of voting rights at ordinary and extraordinary general shareholders’ meetings are subject to certain conditions. Shareholders deciding to exercise their voting rights must have their shares registered in their names in the shareholder registry maintained by or on behalf of the Company before the meeting. An ADS holder must timely and properly return its voting instruction card to the Depositary to exercise the voting rights relating to the shares represented by its ADSs. The Depositary will use its reasonable efforts to vote the underlying shares in the manner indicated by the ADS holder. In addition, if an ADS holder does not timely return a voting instruction card or the voting instruction card received is improperly completed or blank, that holder will be deemed to have given the Depositary a proxy to vote, and the Depositary will vote in favor of all proposals recommended by the Board of Directors and against all proposals that are not recommended by the Board of Directors.

All shareholders who have properly registered their shares have the right to participate in general shareholders’ meetings, either in person, by proxy, or by mail, and to vote according to the number of shares they hold. Each share confers on the shareholder the right to one vote. Under French law, an entity we control directly or indirectly is prohibited from holding shares in the Company and, in the

56

Table of Contents

event it becomes a shareholder, shares held by such entity would be deprived of voting rights. A proxy may be granted by a shareholder whose name is registered on our share registry to his or her spouse, to another shareholder or to a legal representative, in the case of a legal entity, or by sending a proxy to the Company. Under French law, a proxy that is returned without instructions will be counted as present for purposes of the quorum and will be counted (i) in favor of the adoption of the draft resolutions presented or approved by the Board of Directors and (ii) against the adoption of all other draft resolutions which were not expressly presented or approved by the Board of Directors.

The presence in person or by proxy of shareholders having not less than 20% (in the case of an ordinary general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting deciding upon any capital increase by capitalization of reserves) or 25% (in the case of any other extraordinary general meeting) of the shares entitled to vote is necessary to reach a quorum. If a quorum is not reached at any meeting, the meeting is adjourned. Upon reconvening of an adjourned meeting, there is no quorum requirement in the case of an ordinary general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting deciding upon any capital increase by capitalization of reserves. The presence in person or by proxy of shareholders having not less than 20% of the shares is necessary to reach a quorum in the case of any other type of extraordinary general meeting.

At an ordinary general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting deciding upon any capital increase by capitalization of reserves, a simple majority of the votes of the shareholders present or represented by proxy is required to approve a resolution. At any other extraordinary general meeting, two-thirds of the votes cast is required. However, a unanimous vote is required to increase liabilities of shareholders.

As a result of a recent change in French law, as of the General Meeting of Shareholders approving the 2019 accounts, abstention from voting, blank votes and null votes by those present or those represented by proxy or voting by mail are no longer counted as votes against the resolution submitted to a shareholder vote at any of the two types of meetings.

In addition to his/her rights to certain information regarding the Company, any shareholder may, during the two-week period preceding a shareholders’ meeting, submit to the Board of Directors written questions relating to the agenda for the meeting. The Board of Directors must respond to such questions during the meeting.

Under French law, shareholders can nominate individuals for election to the Board of Directors at a shareholders’ meeting. When the nomination is part of the agenda of the shareholders’ meeting, the nomination must contain the name, age, professional references and professional activity of the nominee for the past five years, as well as the number of shares owned by such candidate, if any. In addition, if the agenda for the shareholders’ meeting includes the election of members of the Board of Directors, any shareholder may require, during the meeting, the nomination of a candidate for election at the Board of Directors at the shareholders’ meeting, even if such shareholder has not followed the nomination procedures. Under French law, shareholders cannot elect a new member of the Board of Directors at a general shareholders meeting if the agenda for the meeting does not include the election of a member of the Board of Directors, unless such nomination is necessary to fill a vacancy due to the previous resignation of a member.

As set forth in our by-laws, shareholders’ meetings are held at the registered office of the Company or at any other locations specified in the written notice. We do not have staggered or cumulative voting arrangements for the election of Directors.

Preferential Subscription Rights (French Law)

Shareholders have preferential rights to subscribe for additional shares issued by the Company for cash on a pro rata basis (or any equity securities of the Company or other securities giving a right, directly or indirectly, to equity securities issued by the Company). Shareholders may waive their preferential rights, either individually or at an extraordinary general meeting under certain circumstances. Preferential subscription rights, if not previously waived, are transferable during the subscription period relating to a particular offering of shares. U.S. holders of ADSs may not be able to exercise preferential rights for Shares underlying their ADSs unless a registration statement under the Securities Act is effective with respect to such rights or an exemption from the registration requirement thereunder is available.

Form and Holding of Shares (French Law)

Form of Shares

Our by-laws provide that shares can only be held in registered form.

57

Table of Contents

Holding of Shares

The shares are registered in the name of the respective owners thereof in the registry maintained by or on behalf of the Company.

Stock certificates evidencing shares, in a manner comparable to that in the United States, are not issued by French companies, but we may issue or cause to be issued confirmations of shareholdings registered in such registry to the persons in whose names the shares are registered. Pursuant to French law, such confirmations do not constitute documents of title and are not negotiable instruments.

Ownership of ADSs or Shares by Non-French Residents (French Law)

Under current French law, there is no limitation on the right of non-French residents or non-French security holders to own, or where applicable, vote securities of a French company.

Nevertheless, any investment: (i) by (a) any non-French citizen, (b) any French citizen not residing in France, (c) any non-French entity or (d) any French entity controlled by one of the aforementioned individuals or entities; (ii) that will result in the relevant investor (a) acquiring control of an entity having its registered office in France, (b) acquiring all or part of a business line of an entity having its registered office in France, or (c) for non-EU or non-EEA investors crossing, directly or indirectly, alone or in concert, a 25% threshold of voting rights in an entity having its registered office in France; and (iii) developing activities in certain strategic industries related to: (a) activities likely to prejudice national defense interests, participating in the exercise of official authority or likely to prejudice public order and public security (including activities related to weapons, dual-use goods and technologies, IT systems, cryptology, data capturing devices, gambling, toxic agents or data storage), (b) activities relating to essential infrastructure, goods or services (including energy, water, transportation, space, telecom, public health, farm products or media), (c) research and development activities related to critical technologies (including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum technologies, energy storage or biotechnology) or dual-use goods and technologies, is subject to the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy, which authorization, if granted, may be subject to certain undertakings. This request for prior authorization must be filed with the French Ministry of Economy, which has 30 business days from receipt of the complete file to provide a first decision which may (i) unconditionally authorize the investment or (ii) indicate that further examination is required. In the latter case, the French Ministry of Economy must make a second decision within 45 business days from its first decision. In case of lack of response from the French Ministry of Economy within the above mentioned timeframe, the authorization will be deemed refused. If the authorization is granted, it may be subject to the signature of a letter of undertakings aimed at protecting the French national interests. If an investment requiring the prior authorization of the French Minister of Economy is completed without such authorization having been granted, the French Minister of Economy might direct the relevant investor to (i) submit a request for authorization, (ii) have the previous situation restored at its own expense, or (iii) amend the investment. The relevant investor might also be found criminally liable and might be sanctioned with a fine which cannot exceed the greater of: (i) twice the amount of the relevant investment, (ii) 10% of the annual turnover before tax of the target company and (iii) €5 million (for a company) or €1 million (for an individual).

The French Monetary and Financial Code (CMF) provides for statistical reporting requirements. Transactions by which non-French residents acquire at least 10% of the share capital or voting rights, or cross the 10% threshold, of a French resident company, are considered as foreign direct investments in France and are subject to statistical reporting requirements (Articles R. 152-1; R.152-3 and R. 152-11 of the CMF). When the investment exceeds €15,000,000, companies must declare foreign transactions directly to the Banque de France within 20 business days following the date of certain direct foreign investments in us, including any purchase of ADSs. Failure to comply with such statistical reporting requirement may be sanctioned by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of a maximum amount equal to twice the amount which should have been reported, in accordance with Article L 165-1 of the CMF. This amount may be increased fivefold if the violation is made by a legal entity.

Certain Exemptions (US Law)

Under the U.S. securities laws, as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain rules that apply to domestic U.S. issuers with equity securities registered under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including the proxy solicitation rules and the rules requiring disclosure of share ownership by directors, officers and certain shareholders. We are also exempt from certain of the current NASDAQ corporate governance requirements. For more information on these exemptions, see Item 16 G, ‘‘Corporate Governance —Exemptions from Certain NASDAQ Corporate Governance Rules.’’

58

Table of Contents

Enforceability of Civil Liabilities (French Law)

We are a société anonyme, or limited liability corporation, organized under the laws of the Republic of France. The majority of our directors and executive officers reside in the Republic of France. In addition, a substantial portion of our assets is located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors:

Nevertheless, a final judgment for the payment of money rendered by any federal or state court in the United States based on civil liability, whether or not predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws, would be recognized and enforced in France provided that a French judge considers that this judgment meets the French legal requirement concerning the recognition and the enforcement of foreign judgments and is capable of being immediately enforced in the United States. A French court is therefore likely to grant the enforcement of a foreign judgment without a review of the merits of the underlying claim, only if (i) the judgment was rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the matter as the dispute is clearly connected to the jurisdiction of such court, the choice of the U.S. court was not fraudulent and the French courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction over the matter, (ii) the judgment does not contravene the international public policy rules, both pertaining to the merits and to the procedure of the case, including the defense rights, (iii) the judgment is not tainted with fraud and (iv) the judgment does not conflict with a French judgment  or a foreign judgment (or an arbitral award) which has become effective in France. In addition, French law guarantees full compensation for the harm suffered but is limited to the actual damages, so the victim does not suffer or benefit from the situation, it being specified that under French law, the principle of awarding punitive damages is not, per se, contrary to public order, provided the amount awarded is not disproportionate to the harm suffered and the defendant’s breach.

As a result, the enforcement, by U.S. investors, of any judgments obtained in U.S. courts in civil and commercial matters, including judgments under the U.S. federal securities law against us or members of our Board of Directors, officers or certain experts named herein who are residents of France or countries other than the United States would be subject to the above conditions.

Finally, there may be doubt as to whether a French court would impose civil liability on us, the members of our Board of Directors, our officers or certain experts named herein in an original action predicated solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in France against us or such members, officers or experts, respectively.

Material Contracts

None.

Exchange Controls

Under current French foreign exchange control regulations, there are no limitations on the amount of cash payments that we may remit to residents of foreign countries. Laws and regulations concerning foreign exchange controls do require, however, that all payments or transfers of funds made by a French resident to a non-resident be handled by an accredited intermediary.

Certain Income Tax Considerations

General

The following generally summarizes the material French and U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders (as defined below) of purchasing, owning and disposing of ADSs and shares (collectively the “Securities”). This discussion is intended only as a descriptive summary and does not purport to be a complete analysis or listing of all potential tax effects of the purchase, ownership or disposition of the Securities. All of the following is subject to change. Such changes could apply retroactively and could affect the consequences described below.

59

Table of Contents

This summary does not constitute a legal opinion or tax advice. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of Securities in light of their particular circumstances, including the effect of any U.S. federal, state, local or other national tax laws.

A set of tax rules is applicable to French assets that are held by or in foreign trusts. These rules provide inter alia for the inclusion of trust assets in the settlor’s net assets for purpose of applying the French real estate wealth tax, for the application of French gift and death duties to French assets held in trust, for a specific tax on capital on the French assets of foreign trusts not already subject to the French real estate wealth tax and for a number of French tax reporting and disclosure obligations. The following discussion does not address the French tax consequences applicable to Securities held in trusts. If Securities are held in trust, the grantor, trustee and beneficiary are urged to consult their own tax adviser regarding the specific tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of Securities.

The description of the French and U.S. federal income tax consequences set forth below is based on the laws (including, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), final, temporary and proposed U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof) in force as of the date of this annual report, the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital of August 31, 1994 (the “Treaty”), which entered into force on December 30, 1995 (as amended by any subsequent protocols, including the protocol of January 13, 2009), and the tax regulations issued by the French tax authorities within the Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques-Impôts (the “Regulations”) in force as of the date of this report. U.S. holders are advised to consult their own tax advisers regarding their eligibility for Treaty benefits, especially with regard to the “Limitations on Benefits” provision, in light of their own particular circumstances.

No advance ruling has been obtained with respect to the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership or disposition of the Securities from either the French or U.S. tax authorities. Thus, there can no assurances that one or both of such authorities will not take a position concerning the such tax consequences different from that set out herein or that such a position would not be sustained by a court.

For the purposes of this discussion, a U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of Securities that is (i) an individual who is a U.S. citizen or resident for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) a U.S. domestic corporation or certain other entities created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, including the District of Columbia, or (iii) otherwise subject to U.S. federal income taxation on a net income basis in respect of Securities. A non-U.S. holder is a person other than a U.S. holder.

If a partnership holds Securities, the tax treatment of a partner generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If a U.S. holder is a partner in a partnership that holds Securities, the holder is urged to consult its own tax adviser regarding the specific tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of Securities.

This discussion is intended only as a general summary and does not purport to be a complete analysis or listing of all potential tax effects of the acquisition, ownership or disposition of the Securities to any particular investor, and does not discuss tax considerations that arise from rules of general application or that are generally assumed to be known by investors. The discussion applies only to investors that hold the Securities as capital assets that have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency, that are entitled to Treaty benefits under the “Limitation on Benefits” provision contained in the Treaty, and whose ownership of the Securities is not effectively connected to a permanent establishment or a fixed base in France. Certain holders (including, but not limited to, U.S. expatriates, partnerships or other entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes, banks, insurance companies, regulated investment companies, tax-exempt organizations, financial institutions, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, persons who acquired the Securities pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation, persons that own (directly, indirectly or by attribution) 5% or more of the Company’s voting stock or 5% or more of the Company’s outstanding share capital, dealers in securities or currencies, persons that elect to mark their securities to market for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and persons holding Securities as a position in a synthetic security, straddle or conversion transaction) may be subject to special rules not discussed below. Holders of Securities are advised to consult their own tax advisers with regard to the application of French tax law and U.S. federal tax law to their particular situations, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or other foreign jurisdiction.

French Taxes

Estate and gift taxes and transfer taxes

In general, a transfer of Securities by gift or by reason of death of a U.S. holder that would otherwise be subject to French gift or inheritance tax, respectively, will not be subject to such French tax by reason of the Convention between the Government of the

60

Table of Contents

United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Estates, Inheritances and Gifts, dated November 24, 1978, unless the donor or the transferor is domiciled in France at the time of making the gift or at the time of his or her death, or the Securities were used in, or held for use in, the conduct of a business through a permanent establishment or a fixed base in France.

Pursuant to Article 235 ter ZD of the French General Tax Code, purchases of certain securities issued by a French company, including shares and ADSs, which are listed on a regulated market of the EU or an exchange market formally acknowledged by the AMF (in each case within the meaning of the French Monetary and Financial Code) are subject in France to a 0.3% tax on financial transactions, or the TFT, provided inter alia that the issuer’s market capitalization exceeds €1.0 billion as of December 1 of the year preceding the taxation year. A list of companies whose market capitalization exceeds €1.0 billion as of December 1 of the year preceding the taxation year within the meaning of Article 235 ter ZD of the French General Tax Code has been published by the French tax authorities in its official guidelines on December 23, 2020 (BOI-ANNX-000467-23/12/2020). The Company was not included in such list as its market capitalization did not exceed €1.0 billion as at December 1, 2020. Please note that such list may be updated from time to time, or may not be published anymore in the future. Furthermore, NASDAQ is not currently acknowledged by the French AMF, but this may change in the future. Therefore, purchases of the Securities are not subject to the TFT.

In the case where the TFT is not applicable, transfers of shares issued by a French company which are not listed on a regulated or organized market within the meaning of the French Monetary and Financial Code are subject to uncapped registration duties at the rate of 0.1% notwithstanding the existence of a written statement (acte). As shares of the Company are not listed, their transfer should be subject to uncapped registration duties at the rate of 0.1% notwithstanding the existence of a written agreement (acte). Although the official guidelines published by the French tax authorities are silent on this point, ADSs should remain outside of the scope of the aforementioned 0.1% registration duties.

Wealth Tax

The French wealth tax (impôt de solidarité sur la fortune) has been replaced with a French real estate wealth tax (impôt sur la fortune immobilière) with effect from January 1, 2018. French real estate wealth tax applies only to individuals and does not generally apply to the Securities if the holder is a U.S. resident, as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, provided that the individual does not own directly or indirectly a shareholding exceeding 10% of the financial rights and voting rights.

U.S. Taxes

Ownership of the securities

Deposits and withdrawals by a U.S. holder of shares in exchange for ADSs, will not be taxable events for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For U.S. tax purposes, holders of ADSs will be treated as owners of the shares represented by such ADSs. Accordingly, the discussion that follows regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of shares is equally applicable to ADSs.

Information reporting and backup withholding tax

Distributions made to holders and proceeds paid from the sale, exchange, redemption or disposal of Securities may be subject to information reporting to the Internal Revenue Service. Such payments may be subject to backup withholding taxes unless the holder (i) is a corporation or other exempt recipient or (ii) provides a taxpayer identification number and certifies that no loss of exemption from backup withholding has occurred. Holders that are not U.S. persons generally are not subject to information reporting or backup withholding. However, such a holder may be required to provide a certification of its non-U.S. status in connection with payments received within the United States or through a U.S.-related financial intermediary to establish that it is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. A holder may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service and furnishing any required information.

Foreign asset reporting

In addition, a U.S. holder that is an individual (and, to the extent provided in future regulations, an entity), may be subject to recently-enacted reporting obligations with respect to shares and ADSs if the aggregate value of these and certain other “specified foreign financial assets” exceeds $50,000. If required, this disclosure is made by filing Form 8938 with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Significant penalties can apply if holders are required to make this disclosure and fail to do so. In addition, a U.S. holder should consider the possible obligation to file online a FinCEN Form 114 - Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Report as a result of holding

61

Table of Contents

shares or ADSs. Holders are encouraged to consult their U.S. tax advisors with respect to these and other reporting requirements that may apply to their acquisition of shares and ADSs.

State and local taxes

In addition to U.S. federal income tax, U.S. holders of Securities may be subject to U.S. state and local taxes with respect to such Securities. Holders of Securities are advised to consult their own tax advisers with regard to the application of U.S. state and local income tax law to their particular situation.

ADSs and Shares

French Taxes

Taxation of dividends

Under French law, dividends paid by a French corporation, such as the Company, to non-residents of France are generally subject to French withholding tax at a rate of 26.5% (12.8% for distributions made to individuals, and 15% for distributions made to not-for-profit organizations with a head office in a Member State of the European Economic Area which would be subject to the tax regime set forth under article 206 paragraph 2 of the French General Tax Code if its head office were located in France and which meet the criteria set forth in the Regulations BOI-RPPM-RCM-30-30-10-70-24/12/2019, n^o 130). Dividends paid by a French corporation, such as the Company, towards non-cooperative States or territories, as defined in Article 238-0 A of the French General Tax Code, will generally be subject to French withholding tax at a rate of 75%, irrespective of the tax residence of the beneficiary of the dividends if the dividends are received in such States or territories; however, eligible U.S. holders entitled to Treaty benefits under the “Limitation on Benefits” provision contained in the Treaty who are U.S. residents, as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty and who receive dividends in non-cooperative States or territories, will not be subject to this 75% withholding tax rate.

Under the Treaty, the rate of French withholding tax on dividends paid to an eligible U.S. holder who is a U.S. resident as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty and whose ownership of the shares or ADSs is not effectively connected with a permanent establishment or fixed base that such U.S. holder has in France, is reduced to 15%, or to 5% if such U.S. holder is a corporation and owns directly or indirectly at least 10% of the share capital of the issuing company; such U.S. holder may claim a refund from the French tax authorities of the amount withheld in excess of the Treaty rates of 15% or 5%, if any. For U.S. holders that are not individuals but are U.S. residents, as defined pursuant to the provisions of the Treaty, the requirements for eligibility for Treaty benefits, including the reduced 5% or 15% withholding tax rates contained in the “Limitation on Benefits” provision of the Treaty, are complicated, and certain technical changes were made to these requirements by the protocol of January 13, 2009. U.S. holders are advised to consult their own tax advisers regarding their eligibility for Treaty benefits in light of their own particular circumstances.

Dividends paid to an eligible U.S. holder may immediately be subject to the reduced rates of 5% or 15% provided that such holder establishes before the date of payment that it is a U.S. resident under the Treaty by completing and providing the depositary with a treaty form (Form 5000). Dividends paid to a U.S. holder that has not filed the Form 5000 before the dividend payment date will be subject to French withholding tax at the rate of 26.5% and then reduced at a later date to 5% or 15%, provided that such holder duly completes and provides the French tax authorities with the treaty forms Form 5000 and Form 5001 before December 31 of the second calendar year following the year during which the dividend is paid. Pension funds and certain other tax-exempt entities are subject to the same general filing requirements as other U.S. holders except that they may have to supply additional documentation evidencing their entitlement to these benefits.

The depositary agrees to use reasonable efforts to follow the procedures established, or that may be established, by the French tax authorities (i) to enable eligible U.S. holders to qualify for the reduced withholding tax rate provided by the Treaty, if available at the time the dividends are paid, or (ii) to recover any excess French withholding taxes initially withheld or deducted with respect to dividends and other distributions to which such U.S. holders may be eligible from the French tax authorities and (iii) to recover any other available tax credits. In particular, associated forms (including Form 5000 and Form 5001, together with their instructions), will be made available by the depositary to all U.S. holders registered with the depositary, and are also generally available from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The withholding tax refund, if any, ordinarily is paid within 12 months of filing the applicable French Treasury Form, but not before January 15 of the year following the calendar year in which the related dividend is paid.

62

Table of Contents

Tax on sale or other disposition

In general, under the Treaty, a U.S. holder who is a U.S. resident for purposes of the Treaty will not be subject to French tax on any capital gain from the redemption (other than redemption proceeds characterized as dividends under French domestic law), sale or exchange of shares or ADSs unless the shares or the ADSs form part of the business property of a permanent establishment or fixed base that the U.S. holder has in France. Special rules apply to holders who are residents of more than one country.

U.S. Taxes

Taxation of dividends

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the gross amount of any distribution paid to U.S. holders (that is, the net distribution received plus any tax withheld therefrom) will be treated as ordinary dividend income to the extent paid or deemed paid out of the current or accumulated earnings and profits of the Company (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Dividends paid by the Company will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to corporate U.S. holders.

Subject to certain exceptions for short-term and hedged positions, the U.S. dollar amount of dividends received by an individual U.S. holder with respect to the ADSs or shares is currently subject to taxation at a maximum rate of 20% if the dividends are “qualified dividends”. Dividends paid on the shares or ADSs will be treated as qualified dividends if (i) the issuer is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income tax treaty with the United States that the Internal Revenue Service has approved for the purposes of the qualified dividend rules and (ii) the issuer was not, in the year prior to the year in which the dividend was paid, and is not, in the year in which the dividend is paid, a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”). The Treaty has been approved for the purposes of the qualified dividend rules. Based on the Company’s financial statements and relevant market and shareholder data, the Company believes it was not a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes with respect to its 2020 taxable year. In addition, based on its current expectations regarding the value and nature of its assets, the sources and nature of its income, and relevant market and shareholder data, the Company does not anticipate that it will become a PFIC for its 2021 taxable year. See “Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”, below. Holders of shares and ADSs should consult their own tax advisers regarding the availability of the reduced dividend tax rate in light of their own particular circumstances.

Dividend income received by a U.S. Holder with respect to ADSs or shares generally will be treated as foreign source income for foreign tax credit purposes. The limitation on foreign taxes eligible for credit is calculated separately with respect to specific classes of income. Distributions out of earnings and profits with respect to the ADSs or shares generally will be treated as “passive category” income (or, in the case of certain U.S. holders, “general category” income). Subject to certain limitations, French income tax withheld in connection with any distribution with respect to the ADSs or shares may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. federal income tax liability of a U.S. holder if such U.S. holder elects for that year to credit all foreign income taxes. Alternatively, such French withholding tax may be taken as a deduction against taxable income. Foreign tax credits will not be allowed for withholding taxes imposed in respect of certain short-term or hedged positions in Securities and may not be allowed in respect of certain arrangements in which a U.S. holder’s expected economic profit is insubstantial. The U.S. federal income tax rules governing the availability and computation of foreign tax credits are complex. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisers concerning the implications of these rules in light of their particular circumstances.

To the extent that an amount received by a U.S. holder exceeds the allocable share of the Company’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, such excess will be applied first to reduce such U.S. holder’s tax basis in its shares or ADSs and then, to the extent it exceeds the U.S. holder’s tax basis, it will constitute capital gain from a deemed sale or exchange of such shares or ADSs (see “- Tax on Sale or Other Disposition”, below).

The amount of any distribution paid in euros will be equal to the U.S. dollar value of the euro amount distributed, calculated by reference to the exchange rate in effect on the date the dividend is received by a U.S. holder of shares (or by the depositary, in the case of ADSs) regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars on such date. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the treatment of foreign currency gain or loss, if any, on any euros received by a U.S. holder that are converted into U.S. dollars on a date subsequent to receipt.

Distributions to holders of additional shares (or ADSs) with respect to their shares (or ADSs) that are made as part of a pro rata distribution to all shareholders generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. However, if a U.S. holder has the option to receive a distribution in shares (or ADSs) or to receive cash in lieu of such shares (or ADSs), the distribution of shares (or ADSs) will be taxable as if the holder had received an amount equal to the fair market value of the distributed shares (or ADSs), and such holder’s tax basis in the distributed shares (or ADSs) will be equal to such amount.

63

Table of Contents

Tax on sale or other disposition

In general, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a U.S. holder that sells, exchanges or otherwise disposes of its shares or ADSs will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the U.S. dollar value of the difference between the amount realized for the shares or ADSs and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis (determined in U.S. dollars and under U.S. federal income tax rules) in the shares or ADSs. Such gain or loss generally will be U.S.-source gain or loss, and will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period in the shares or ADSs exceeds one year at the time of disposition. If the U.S. holder is an individual, any capital gain generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at preferential rates (currently a maximum of 20%) if specified minimum holding periods are met. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to significant limitations.

Medicare tax

Certain U.S. holders who are individuals, estates or trusts are required to pay a Medicare tax of 3.8% (in addition to taxes they would otherwise be subject to) on their “net investment income” which would include, among other things, dividends and capital gains from the shares and ADSs.

Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules

Unfavorable U.S. tax rules apply to companies that are considered PFICs. The Company will be classified as a PFIC in a particular taxable year if either (a) 75% or more of its gross income is treated as passive income for purposes of the PFIC rules; or (b) the average percentage of the value of its assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income is at least 50%.

As explained above, based on the Company’s financial statements and relevant market and shareholder data, the Company believes it was not a PFIC with respect to its 2020 taxable year. In addition, based on its current expectations regarding the value and nature of its assets, the sources and nature of its income, and relevant market and shareholder data, the Company does not anticipate that it will become a PFIC for its 2021 taxable year. However, as discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-Fs filed by the Company with respect to certain prior years the Company believes that it was a PFIC in the past. Moreover, because the PFIC determination is made annually and is dependent upon a number of factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control (including whether the Company continues to earn substantial amounts of operating income as well as the market composition and value of the Company’s assets), there can be no assurance that the Company will not become a PFIC in future years.

U.S. holders that hold Securities at any time during years when the Company is a PFIC and do not make certain U.S. tax elections (a "mark-to-market election" or a "QEF election") will be subject to adverse tax treatment. For instance, such holders will be subject to a special tax at ordinary income tax rates on certain dividends that the Company pays and on gains realized on the sale of Securities (“excess distributions”) in all subsequent years, even though the Company ceased to qualify as a PFIC. The amount of this tax will be increased by an interest charge to compensate for tax deferral, calculated as if the excess distributions had been earned ratably over the period the U.S. holder held its Securities. It may be possible, in certain circumstances, for a holder to avoid the application of the PFIC rules by making a "deemed sale" election for its taxable year that includes the last day of the Company’s last taxable year during which it qualified as a PFIC. The PFIC rules are extremely complex, and holders should consult their own tax advisers regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to their Securities and the desirability and availability of the above elections.

The discussion above is a general summary. It does not cover all tax matters that may be important to you. You should consult your tax advisors regarding the application of the U.S. federal tax rules to your particular circumstances, as well as the state, local, non-U.S. and other tax consequences to you of the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Securities.

Statement by Experts

Not applicable.

Documents on Display

We file annual, periodic, and other reports and information with the SEC. These materials, including this annual report and the exhibits hereto, may be inspected and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the SEC’s Public Reference Room by calling the SEC in the United States at +1 800 SEC 0330. Certain of our public filings are also available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov (such documents are not incorporated by reference in this annual report).

64

Table of Contents

Subsidiary Information

Not applicable.

​

65

Table of Contents

deductions from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The Depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until the fees for those services are paid.

Fees Payable to the Company by the Depositary

From January 1, 2020 to March 15, 2021, the following amounts were paid by the Depositary to the Company: $90,000 and $13,656 respectively for the administration of the ADR program and for expenses linked to the assistance in identifying shareholders of the Company.

​

66

Table of Contents

and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2020 and that the material weakness reported in our annual report for the year ended December 31, 2019 was fully remediated. During the course of 2020, the Company implemented a formal “Ticketing tool” in order to strengthen the change management process and documentation. The Company also strengthened its IT team to ensure a better segregation of duties upon IT changes implementation. The Company therefore considers that this material weakness has been remediated as of December 31, 2020.

Based upon the work performed, management believes that the Company’s consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 20-F fairly present in all material respects the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

Disclosure controls and procedures means controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. The Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of its disclosure control system are met. Because of inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues, if any, within a company have been detected.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) and for the assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

The Company’s internal controls over financial reporting include those policies and procedures that:

​

​

​

​

Because of inherent limitations, internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Management assessed the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 based upon the internal control framework as set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 COSO). Based on management’s assessment, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.

Remediation Activities

In our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018, we reported a material weakness in our internal control with respect to the implementation of a new integrated information management system (SAP version 4HANA) which we launched in production on July 1, 2018, and that includes our accounting, as well as our production and inventory processes. This material weakness resulted from several significant deficiencies in the development and change program which, considered in aggregation, gave rise to the conclusion that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2018 and that this material weakness was not considered fully remediated as of December 31, 2019, although certain new controls were implemented during 2019.

67

Table of Contents

During the course of 2020, the Company implemented a formal “Ticketing tool” in order to strengthen the change management process and documentation. The Company also strengthened its IT team to ensure a better segregation of duties upon IT changes implementation. The Company, therefore, considers that this material weakness has been remediated as of December 31, 2020.

Change in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the remediation, there were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during  the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Attestation Report of Registered Public Accounting Firm

The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, has been audited by KPMG S.A., an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in its report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting included on page F-2 of this Annual Report.

​

Item 16. [Reserved]

68

Table of Contents

the 2020 fiscal year for the audit of the statutory consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Audit fees to be billed to us by Agili(3F) for fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 are as follows: