Bekaert NV

Annual Report • Mar 28, 2025

Shaping the way we live and move

Table of Contents

PART I: Strategy and performance 5

Message from the Chairman and the CEO	6

Bekaert at a glance	8
About us	9
Our highlights	10
Our strategy	11
Our business units	15
Our stakeholders	17
Our knowledge and innovation	20
Our financial performance	24
Our leadership	30

PART II: Statements 39

Corporate governance statement	40
Board of Directors	42
Committees of the Board of Directors	43
Evaluation	44
Executive Management	45
Diversity	45
Conduct policies	46
Remuneration report	48
Shares	60
Control and ERM	64
Financial statements	72
Consolidated financial statements	73
Consolidated income statement	73
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income	74
Consolidated balance sheet	75
Consolidated statement of changes in equity	76
Consolidated cash flow statement	78
Notes to the consolidated financial statements	79
1. General information	79

2. Summary of principal accounting policies	79
2.1. Statement of compliance	79
2.2. General principles	79
2.3. Balance sheet items	80
2.4. Income statement items	85
2.5. Statement of comprehensive	85
income and statement of changes in equity
2.6. Alternative performance measures	85
2.7. Miscellaneous	85
3. Significant accounting judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty	86
3.1. Significant judgments in applying the entity's accounting policies	86
3.2. Key sources of estimation uncertainty	86
3.3. Impact of macro-economic environment and climate	87
4. Segment reporting	88
4.1. Key data by reporting segment	89
4.2. Revenue by country	91
5. Income statement items	91
5.1. Net sales	91
5.2. Operating result (EBIT) by function	92
5.3. Operating result (EBIT) by nature	96
5.4. Interest income and expense	96
5.5. Other financial income and expenses	97
5.6. Income taxes	97
5.7. Share in the results of joint ventures and associates	98
5.8. Earnings per share	99
6. Balance sheet items	100
6.1. Intangible assets	100
6.2. Goodwill	101
6.3. Property, plant and equipment	104
6.4. Right-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment	106
6.5. Investments in joint ventures and associates	108
6.6. Other non-current assets	110
6.7. Deferred tax assets and liabilities	111

6.8. Operating working capital 114

6.9. Other receivables	116
6.10. Cash & cash equivalents and short term deposits	116
6.11. Other current assets	117
6.12. Assets classified as held for sale and liabilities associated with those assets	117
6.13. Ordinary shares, treasury shares and equity-settled share-based payments	118
6.14. Retained earnings and other group reserves	122
6.15. Non-controlling interests	124
6.16. Employee benefit obligations	126
6.17. Provisions	134
6.18. Interest-bearing debt	135
6.19. Other non-current liabilities	137
6.20. Other current liabilities	137
6.21. Tax positions	138
7. Miscellaneous items	138
7.1. Notes to the cash flow statement	138
7.2. Effect of business combinations and business disposals	140
7.3. Financial risk management and financial instruments	141
7.4. Contingencies, commitments, secured liabilities and assets pledged as security	151
7.5. Related parties	151
7.6. Events after the balance sheet date	152
7.7. Services provided by the statutory auditor and related persons	153
7.8. Subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates	153
Parent company information	157
Annual report of the Board of Directors and financial statements of NV Bekaert SA	157
Proposed appropriation of NV Bekaert SA 2024 result	159
Appointments pursuant to the Articles of Association	159
Alternative performance measures	160
Auditor's report	165

ESG Statements	172
ESRS 2 General information	173
Environmental	185
Social	224
Governance	250
Content index	253
Auditor's report	255

PART III: About this report 260

Reporting principles	261
Glossary	262
Statement from the responsible persons	263

PART I

Strategy and Performance

Building the foundations for future growth while defending margins

Dear Shareholder, Dear Reader,

The past year, with slowing demand in many of our traditional end-markets, proved to be more challenging than expected. The progress on our strategic transformation and a broad range of initiatives to reduce costs have made Bekaert more resilient and enabled us to navigate the challenging business conditions successfully. Despite lower sales, we defended our EBIT margin and maintained robust cash flow generation.

Building our presence in the growing markets of energy transition, lifting and mooring, and sustainable construction remains a high priority. Our forward looking investments in innovation, manufacturing capacity and strategic partnerships are enabling Bekaert to become a more resilient, higher growth and higher margin business in the long term.

We continue to integrate sustainability into our strategy, both in terms of our product and market focus, as well as improving our own operations and processes. As a result GHG emissions were reduced further and sales generated from sustainable solutions increased in 2024.

Sales amounted to € 4.0 billion in 2024, and underlying EBIT reached € 348 million, delivering a robust EBITu margin performance of 8.8%, continuing to benefit from pricing discipline, cost efficiencies and improved business mix. Our focus on working capital and cash flow, resulted in a net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio of 0.5x at year-end 2024, reinforcing our strong financial position.

Based on the results achieved and our strong financial position, the Board of Directors decided to restart the share buyback in November 2024 for up to € 200 million over the next 2 years and will propose a gross dividend of € 1.90 per share, representing a 6% increase vs last year, at the upcoming Annual General Shareholders meeting.

As we embark on 2025, our commitment to strategic transformation, sustainable growth and operational resilience remains steadfast. With the investments underway we are laying the foundation for future value creation by improving our competitiveness and strengthening our position in attractive growth markets.

The continued trust and support of our customers, business partners, and shareholders has been much appreciated in the past year. We would also like to thank all our employees for their contribution, energy, and better together spirit as we move forward to 2025.

Yves Kerstens Jürgen Tinggren Chief Executive Officer Chairman of the Board of Directors

Bekaert at a glance

About us

Bekaert's ambition is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move, and to always do this in a way that is safe, smart, and sustainable.

Founded in 1880, with its headquarters in Belgium, Bekaert is a global company whose 20 795 employees worldwide together helped generate € 4.0 billion in consolidated sales in 2024.

As a global leader in material science of steel wire transformation and coating technologies, Bekaert also applies its expertise beyond steel to create new solutions with innovative materials and services for markets including new mobility, sustainable construction and energy transition.

From making a positive impact with sustainable solutions and practices, to building a diverse and inclusive future, Bekaert is determined to improve life and create value for all stakeholders.

Bekaert delivers on its sustainability strategy by developing and offering sustainable solutions, using materials and energy responsibly, conducting the highest business ethics and safety standards, and engaging employees and business partners.

Our highlights

Our strategy

Our ambition is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move – safe, smart and sustainable. We want to be the partner of choice for our customers by addressing the critical challenges and opportunities they face.

Whilst many of our markets are facing significant and fast-paced changes, executing our strategy is critical to navigate these challenges and to deliver on our overall ambition. While global economic and geopolitical factors have caused some delays in the progress of our growth platforms, our strategic focus remains the same.

Our strategic priorities

Bekaert has clear strategic priorities focusing on accelerated value creation and profitable growth. These strategic priorities will enable us to reach our mid to long-term ambitions on sales growth, profitability, return on capital and sustainability.

1. Customer and end-market focus

We are transitioning Bekaert's businesses to be more market-driven and customer-focused, targeting high-growth markets supported by megatrends and higher margins. Being closer to our customers and their ecosystems, will enable us to drive innovation, unlock market opportunities, and remain at the cutting edge of our industry.

2. Implementation of the Target Operating Model

Rapidly changing markets with stronger competition requires higher level of agility from each business unit. We are therefore implementing a new Target Operating Model (TOM) to create self-sufficient and empowered business units. The TOM will ensure resources are being focused on the frontline to enhance our market connectivity and understanding. Teams are being decentralized and embedded into businesses to improve efficiency and accountability. Lastly, we are redesigning the structure of our corporate center to effectively drive active portfolio management, capital allocation and performance oversight. The corporate center will also have a role to selectively support each business unit based on their needs and business maturity.

3. Performance oriented culture

Our people are at the heart of our success. We are focused on identifying priority skills and capabilities to address current and future needs. We are making sure the fundamentals are right to be a performance oriented, ambidextrous organization with the ability to adapt and manage businesses having different needs, challenges and technological maturity. A high-performance mindset and empowered teams are key enablers to drive our future growth. We will continue to have a strong focus on commercial and operational excellence to foster and reinforce resilient performance.

4. Accelerating innovation to strengthen our market positions

Innovation remains critical to drive Bekaert's technological and market leadership. Bekaert is increasingly embedding innovation within each individual business unit, ensuring close connection and understanding of customer requirements. A good example is our fully dedicated R&D team for hydrogen projects. However, this decentralization remains supported by capabilities that are shared across businesses, specifically our metallurgical, electrochemical and corrosion expertise.

We are building key positions in each specific business ecosystem. For example, our collaboration with major tire companies to increase the use of recycled steel that contributes to circular economy, our participation in technology-driven consortia such as Hydrogen Europe or our on-going collaborations with key mooring and lifting equipment suppliers to revolutionize rope inspection which drives significant benefits such as longer operational safety, extended lifetime of ropes, increased productivity and sustainability.

Other innovation examples benefiting strong ecosystem collaboration include:

Our Advanced Steel Cores for High Tensile Low Sag Conductors in North American market, helping to increase the capacity on existing electric corridors to expand electric capacity, or our high strength engineered synthetic BEXCO lifting slings, which allow for fast and efficient installation of XXL Monopile foundations for bottom-fixed offshore wind.

Where available, we will also access public funding such as the EU Innovation Fund to support our innovation efforts.

5. Sustainability

Sustainability remains at the core of our strategy, with a comprehensive approach across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions. Our ambition is to be recognized as the leading sustainability player in our industry by meeting critical needs of our customers in their own sustainability journey. We therefore continue to accelerate the development and commercialization of our sustainable solutions, to support the shift to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

In sustainable construction and energy transition markets, our brands Dramix® and Currento® have received the Solar Impulse Foundation Label, an award given to the best sustainable solutions that outperform existing offers.

We ensure that ESG is embedded in all parts of our businesses and ways of working, from improving the sustainability and carbon footprint of our operations, fostering gender balance and equality, and committing to ethical, fair processes and transparent corporate governance.

Refer to the ESG Statements section for additional information on sustainability at Bekaert.

Our markets

Bekaert continues to become a market-driven organization, aligning to target end-markets, supported by global megatrends. We hold strong positions in each of these target end-markets, both with emerging as well as with established technologies.

Our brands

Driving growth through global brands

Our customers recommend Bekaert because of our product quality, high service level and brand reputation. We will continue to strengthen each business unit's market positioning through our global product brands, enhancing the Bekaert brand, and to better serve our customer needs. Our current global brands include Currento® for green hydrogen production, Dramix® fibers in sustainable construction, Bridon® steel ropes for mission critical segments of lifting and mooring, and Bexco® synthetic rope solutions for offshore energy lifting and mooring and marine applications. Our aim is to support and simplify our customer's critical decisions with these valued and trusted brands.

Bexco® - Heavy lifting

Bekaert has a strong global presence in both production footprint and market coverage. We will continue to benefit from this global, yet local positioning, specifically to manage the challenges of geopolitical uncertainty and changing trade flows due to increasing tariffs and trade tensions.

Strategy in Action: Active portfolio management and capital allocation

Our strategy is to actively manage our business portfolio and capital allocation to ensure competitiveness, differentiation and maximize future opportunities. We will reduce our exposure to markets in which we observe limited growth, lower margin, lower differentiation potential, higher volatility and capital intensity. Following our recent divestments, we will continue to review our portfolio to ensure that we allocate capital to higher growth and margin areas while maintaining our competitiveness and remaining fit-for-purpose in the future.

To drive our organic growth, we allocate resources to strategic projects focusing on sustainability, energy transition, safety and digital transformation. We also prioritize innovation, increased automation and development of our key growth platforms.

Celebrating our expansion in Pune

Bekaert delivered a successful expansion of its Pune plant in India, achieved in just 12 months.

As the leading tire cord supplier globally, this expansion underscores our commitment to India's tire industry and to our partners. It strengthens Bekaert's local footprint and aligns perfectly with the "Make in India" initiative, ensuring we are closer than ever to one of our most important growth markets.

Alongside our organic growth, acquisitions are a key driver to accelerate our positions in selected endmarkets. Our targets are the market leaders in adjacent sectors, which offer a combination of synergies, higher profit margins, lower capital intensity, innovation, customer access and a strong ESG component.

We are actively searching further M&A targets, especially for our growth businesses such as Energy Transition or Sustainable Construction.

Following the acquisition of Flintstone at the end of 2023, a technology company delivering state-of-theart connectors for mooring industry, we completed the acquisition of BEXCO in 2024, a leading synthetic ropes producer. We have successfully integrated both businesses, adding significant new capabilities to our solutions offering in offshore lifting and mooring.

Bekaert strengthens offering in synthetic offshore lifting and mooring

Bekaert acquired BEXCO, a leading global player with a successful track record of more than 50 years in synthetic ropes for offshore energy production (both conventional and renewable) and marine applications. The acquisition, for a cash consideration of € 40 million, is part of Bekaert's growth strategy. It creates a synthetic ropes technology leader that offers an attractive combination for customers in lifting and mooring. Bekaert management expects significant synergies and accretive profit margins from the acquisition.

Our growth is supported by a well-balanced capital allocation strategy. Thanks to our very low financial leverage, significant liquidity and balanced debt maturity, we are well-positioned to pursue both organic and inorganic growth while maintaining growing dividend strategy and performing substantial share buybacks.

Our business units

Rubber Reinforcement (RR)

Bekaert's RR business develops, manufactures, and supplies high quality steel cord and bead wire reinforcement solutions for the tire sector.

The business unit supplies all of the top 30 tire makers around the globe as well as other customers, backed by a global presence of manufacturing plants in EMEA, US, India, Southeast Asia, China, and Brazil.

About one out of four tires around the world is reinforced with Bekaert steel cord.

Value drivers and strategic focus

• Global footprint with strong local presence
  • Supply chain security
  • Cost competitiveness
• Market leadership through innovation
  • Strong market share in global tire cord market – Joint development programs and long-term
• supply agreements with its customers • Solutions provider to new mobility and
• sustainability transformation
• Safer, lighter, and sustainable materials
• Increased recycled steel content
• Selective growth and mix optimization – Agility and resilience to changing market dynamics with selective growth in target regions
• Mix and footprint optimization in China
• Resilience and efficiency
  • Drive cash generation and margin performance
  • Cost focus and pricing discipline

BU performance FY2024¹

€ 1.70 billion	consolidated sales
€ 172 million	joint venture sales
8.7%	EBITu margin
13.5%	EBITDAu margin
14.3%	ROCEu

Steel Wire Solutions (SWS)

Bekaert's SWS business unit develops, manufactures, and supplies a broad range of steel wire products and solutions for customers in sectors including energy and utilities, mining, construction, agriculture, automotive, and medical and consumer goods. The business unit has a global presence with manufacturing plants in EMEA, US, Latin America, and Asia, and a sales and distribution network worldwide.

Value drivers and strategic focus

• Transformational portfolio management
  • Focus on target industries including energy and utilities, e-mobility, and medical solutions to drive margin expansion
  • Move beyond commodity markets by divesting from lower performing, cyclical business areas
• Enhance margin improvement and cash conversion
  • Strong pricing discipline supported by AI
  • Operational excellence and asset-light
• operations
• Footprint optimization
• Accelerate innovation

  - Double the sales from innovation – Scale up incubation projects

BU performance FY2024¹

€ 1.07 billion	consolidated sales
€ 742 million	joint venture sales
10.4%	EBITu margin
13.1%	EBITDAu margin
28.2%	ROCEu

¹ Detailed segment reports are included in Part II (Financial Statements - 4.1 Key data by reporting segment) of this report. All margin indicators relate to underlying (u) consolidated results.

Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG)

BBRG is committed to be the leading innovator and supplier of the best performing ropes and advanced cords (A-Cords) for its customers worldwide. BBRGropes has a leading position in a very wide range of sectors, including surface and underground mining, offshore and onshore energy, crane and industrial, fishing and marine, and structures. The A-Cords business of BBRG develops and supplies fine steel cords for elevator and timing belts used in construction and equipment markets respectively, window regulator and heating cords for the automotive sector, and Armofor® thermoplastic tapes for light-weight flexible pipes in energy markets.

Value drivers and strategic focus

• Advanced lifting solutions for the elevator industry with elevator hoisting cord, belt and Flexisteel®
• Advanced digital services based on superior VisionTek optical measurement technology for predictive critical rope performance
• Decarbonization of the energy mix:
  • Lifting ropes and slings for offshore wind
  • Steel mooring ropes and Bexco® synthetic rope solutions for offshore energy lifting and mooring and marine applications
  • Floating offshore wind (FOW) innovative mooring solutions with TFI SeaSpring and Flintstone connectors and tensioners
  • Significant CO2e emission reduction with Armofor® reinforced flexible pipes as an alternative to steel pipes
  • Re-engineering Armofor® for hydrogen and hydrogen derivates
• Successful turnaround driven by footprint and business-mix optimization

BU performance FY2024¹

Specialty Businesses (SB)

The business unit Specialty Businesses comprises several sub-segments that have a high-end portfolio of advanced technologies, lightweight solutions, and environmentally friendly applications in common.

The sub-segment Building Products is focused on the decarbonization of construction markets and develops and manufactures sustainable products that reinforce concrete, masonry, plaster, and asphalt. The sub-segments hose and belt reinforcement, fiber technologies, heating technologies, ultra-fine wire, and hydrogen, serve markets related to the energy transition.

Value drivers and strategic focus

• Growth in sustainable construction with Dramix® steel fibers, Synmix® synthetic fibers, and SigmaSlabTM for concrete reinforcement and a wide range of other products and services, all enabling:
  • Safe installation conditions
  • Reduction of CO2e emissions due to less steel and less concrete
  • Lower total cost of ownership by using less materials, labor, and time
  • Higher asset durability
• Growth and innovation in energy transition with a product and service offering for the production, transmission and distribution, and end use of green energy solutions
  • Currento® porous transport layers for hydrogen electrolysis
  • Low and zero-emission gas burners and heat exchangers
  • Hose reinforcement for wind blade pitching, ammonia bunkering and hydrogen fueling
  • Ultra-fine wire for solar photovoltaic wafer production
  • Green molecule filtration

BU performance FY2024¹

€ 552 million	consolidated sales	€ 630 million	consolidated sales
9.0%	EBITu margin	13.8%	EBITu margin
15.0%	EBITDAu margin	17.2%	EBITDAu margin
9.1%	ROCEu	23.2%	ROCEu

¹ Detailed segment reports are included in Part II (Financial Statements - 4.1 Key data by reporting segment) of this report. All margin indicators relate to underlying (u) consolidated results.

Our stakeholders

Bekaert creates value for its stakeholders by delivering on the company's strategy and objectives, both in terms of financial performance and by helping to address society's environmental and social

opportunities and challenges. Bekaert has an international customer base in established and emerging markets. We serve global and local customers with a rich portfolio of value added products and services. Our global footprint helps enable a customer-centric approach and it shortens the supply chains.

Our investments in Research & Innovation, and in digital and sustainable solutions, lead to advanced technologies that enable our customers to meet their challenges and ambitions, and hence create customer value.

Bekaert is a trusted partner in offering quality products and solutions, and demonstrates a high degree of agility in all possible circumstances.

Our higher ambition is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move. We want to be the partner of choice to customers developing solutions in new mobility, sustainable construction, green energy, and advanced lifting and mooring. Together, we can drive and accelerate the shift toward sustainable solutions in the end markets.

20 795 Bekaert employees work together as one global team to deliver quality products and services and contribute to our performance in safety, digital, sustainability, and innovation.

United through our values of integrity, trust, agility, and boldness, we work better together to grow the business, to inspire and engage, and to deliver results.

As a company and as individuals, we act with integrity and commit to the highest standards of ethics. We promote equal opportunity, foster diversity and inclusion, and create a caring and safe working environment across our organization.

This way, we engage our people to dare to go beyond in unlocking their full potential, have an impact on the company's performance, and in establishing the new possible.

This employer value proposition is not only relevant to our current employees: it also aims to inspire future talents to join us in our purpose and ambition.

Bekaert supports economic development and employment through the business relations and activities with suppliers worldwide. We work together with key suppliers in the development of new products and services.

We require a formal commitment of our suppliers to comply with human rights and ethical business conduct standards.

Bekaert works together with business partners in joint ventures and in consolidated entities co-owned with minority shareholders. With or without partners, Bekaert adopts the same high standards in business ethics, health and safety at the workplace, and highperformance teams and culture.

Bekaert collaborates with technology partners to drive innovations in target markets. Several forms of cooperation exist: through business partnerships and consortia with industry leaders and associations, by investing in companies that scale up promising new technologies, and by collaborating with research and academic institutes.

Bekaert is committed to provide clear, timely and accurate information on the company's strategy, performance, and business outlook to all of our financial stakeholders.

Those financial stakeholders include shareholders, institutional and retail investors, and equity research analysts. They have access to information about Bekaert via our website, frequent press releases, presentations and webcasts, and individual and group meetings.

In 2024, these meetings included live and virtual roadshows, investor conferences, analyst presentations and the annual General Meeting of Shareholders.

Currently, eight sell-side analysts publish equity research reports on Bekaert.

We strive to be a good corporate citizen in the communities where we operate. We promote and apply responsible and sustainable business practices in our community relations and business operations.

We are committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our activities. We invest in green energy sources and other emission-saving measures to decarbonize the impact of our operations.

We do not support political institutions and adopt a neutral position in political issues. We do condemn any act of violence and aggression against people and any breach of human rights.

We stimulate the economic activity and employment in the locations where we are active. Our tax payments contribute to the development of communities worldwide. Our teams in more than 40 countries are proud to give back to community. We advocate and fund initiatives that help improve the social and environmental conditions in communities all around the world. We support community engagement initiatives and disaster relief programs that make a difference to people's lives, particularly in the communities where we are active.

Recognized by sustainability standards

This report is produced in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its ESRS standards and in reference with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.

Over the past years, Bekaert has continually made progress in improving its scores awarded by major sustainability standards such as MSCI, ISS-ESG, EthiFinance, Sustainalytics and EcoVadis. Bekaert participates in the Climate Change, Supply Chain and Water questionnaires of CDP.

An overview of our scores is available on our website.

From making a positive impact with our sustainable solutions and practices, to building a diverse and inclusive future, Bekaert is determined to improve life and create value for all stakeholders. We are proud to see our sustainability performance and progress recognize

Our knowledge and innovation

• Our research and innovation activities are aimed at creating value for our customers, for our business, and for all our stakeholders to prosper in the long term.
• We co-create with customers and suppliers around the globe to develop, implement, upgrade, and protect both current and future technologies.
• We listen to our customers to understand their innovation and processing needs.
• We accelerate our innovation agenda and upgrade the innovation pipeline. We deploy Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) in our manufacturing and modeling innovations.
• We extend the scope of our innovation activities beyond steel to grow into new materials, new markets, services, and solutions.
• We build key positions in specific business ecosystems to accelerate our innovation progress and leverage the benefits of collaboration between technology leaders.

Innovation is one of the key focus areas of the Bekaert business strategy. The Technology and Innovation (T&I) pipeline is well aligned with the priorities Bekaert has set for its growth platforms, by expanding the product portfolio of sustainable solutions in the large and growing end-markets of sustainable construction, energy transition, advanced lifting and mooring, and e-mobility.

In 2024, the gross R&D expenses, before deduction of grants, tax credits, and capitalized spend, amounted to € 74 million, compared to € 73 million in 2023.

Highlights in 2024

Partnering with Toshiba on MEA technology for PEM electrolyzers to accelerate the advance towards green hydrogen production

In February 2024, Bekaert and Toshiba Energy Systems and Solutions Corporation, entered into a global partnership which includes a strategic cooperation agreement, and a manufacturing technology license for Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA), a key component for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. This partnership aims to accelerate progress in green hydrogen production, and formalizes the recent collaboration to leverage technological, manufacturing and commercial strengths of both companies since signing a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2023.

PEM electrolyzers use electricity to split water into its component elements of oxygen and hydrogen. When the electricity is from a renewable energy source, the hydrogen is produced without any greenhouse gas emissions. The catalyst in PEM anode electrodes uses iridium, one of the scarcest traded metals. Consequently, solutions that reduce iridium content present a significant breakthrough towards the scale adoption of these technologies.

Under the agreement, Bekaert's leading expertise in Porous Transport Layers (PTL), a key component in the MEA of water electrolyzers, will be coupled with Toshiba's innovative iridium-saving technology for MEA, which will enable a 90% reduction in iridium usage in the production of PEM electrolyzers. This reduction in iridium will enable a more stable supply of MEA and support the scale expansion of green hydrogen production. Toshiba's advanced iridium-saving MEA technology, coupled with Bekaert's longstanding expertise in PTL, forms a promising partnership that will effectively meet the rapid growth in demand and contribute significantly to the realization of a green hydrogen society.

Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label

Bekaert's porous transport layer technology Currento® received the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution label.

The Solar Impulse Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting sustainable solutions worldwide. They strongly believe that in order to make a significant impact in protecting the planet, it is crucial to find sustainable solutions that not only have a low CO2e footprint but are also economically viable for all stakeholders involved.

Bekaert selected for EU Innovation Fund grant of up to € 23.6 million

Bekaert has secured up to € 23.6 million from the EU Innovation Fund 2023 to support its "GRAND PIANO" project in Hydrogen. This grant will drive critical innovation in electrolysis stack technology by:

• 1. Establishing an automated GW-scale production line for Proton Exchange Membrane porous transport layers.
• 1. Launching the world's first commercial production of Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) PTL.

The Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programs for the deployment of innovative net-zero and low-carbon technologies and aims to help businesses invest in clean energy and bring technologies to market that can decarbonize European industry.

Critical approval for Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) solutions

Bekaert obtained SFRC guidelines for Segmental Lining in Delhi (India), a key milestone for customer adoption.

Dramix® recognized for its environmental benefits

Bekaert's Dramix® steel fiber reinforced concrete solution has been awarded the Pioneer Award by the Solar Impulse Foundation. This recognition highlights the use of Dramix® fibers in reinforcing line 16.1 of the Grand Paris Express, which led to an average reduction of 10 000 tonnes of CO2e emissions for every 10 km of tunnel. Compared to traditional rebar, this solution uses half the steel and less concrete, providing significant environmental benefits while also cutting transportation emissions.

Dramix® won the 2024 China Green Point Award organized by YICAI (China Business Network).

Recycled steel tires

At the Tire Technology Expo in March 2024, customers showed strong interest in Bekaert's recycled steel certification as the first industry standard for tire reinforcement, and Goodyear displayed a tire comprised of 90% sustainable materials, including the use of Bekaert tire cord with high recycled content (HRC).

Further innovation in tire cord

We are continuously expanding our portfolio of high recycled content reinforcement, now also offering Ultra Tensile. This process breakthrough enables us to support higher performance and lower carbon footprint.

In addition, thanks to our technology expertise, Bekaert has achieved a breakthrough in producing Mega Tensile – the highest strength cords yet – at scale, offering even greater rolling resistance, weight and sustainability benefits.

Offshore mooring projects

Bekaert will provide innovative mooring solutions for world's largest offshore floating solar power plant, the Nautical SUNRISE project. The outcomes of the project will enable the large-scale deployment and commercialization of offshore floating solar systems in the future, both as standalone systems and integrated into offshore wind farms. This project aims to design, build, and showcase a 5 megawatt (MW) offshore floating solar system.

Bekaert also joined the TAILWIND project for its expertise in offshore mooring systems, including synthetic ropes. The TAILWIND project, launched in January 2024, will deliver advanced station-keeping technologies, designed to maintain the position of floating offshore wind (FOW) energy farms through innovative mooring lines and anchoring systems.

Sustainability will be the key enabler for the value creation of the TAILWIND Project. A wide range of stakeholders will be engaged to investigate the

acceptance of potential new technologies to act as a catalyst for increasing affordable wind power in the energy mix.

The TAILWIND project, funded by the EU's Horizon Program, contributes to the goals set by the "REPowerEU" Plan and the "Fit for 55" package, aiming to accelerate the roll-out of renewables, diversify energy supplies and trigger consistent energy savings.

Solutions for telecommunications

Bekaert's innovative messenger and guy strand product met the Buy America guidelines set by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Bekaert's messenger and guy strand is used in aerial cable installations and acts as the backbone or support to the communication lines. By anchoring the cables, the strand helps to prevent excessive movement or sagging. This is particularly important for long spans or areas with varying terrain and weather conditions.

Bekaert's Messenger Strand is manufactured at its Van Buren, AR facility, which employs a highly skilled workforce and utilizes advanced manufacturing processes. Bekaert's commitment to quality and innovation has made it a trusted partner for telecommunications companies.

Received Nexans Customer Award for "Reliability and Business Continuity"

Bekaert received the "Reliability and Business Continuity" award at the 4th edition of Nexans Suppliers Day 2024. Out of a total of 15 000 suppliers of which 300 are identified as strategic partners, Bekaert has been awarded for its commitment to growing and electrifying the future together with Nexans as partners.

Subsea power cables play a crucial role in transmitting energy efficiently across the ocean floor, connecting offshore wind farms, oil rigs, and other underwater installations to the mainland.

A-Cords received "Global Best Quality Supplier Award" from Otis

Bekaert's Advanced Cords business received the 'Global Best Quality Supplier Award', during the recent Otis Global Supplier Conference 2024 in Tianjin (China). This achievement underscores our commitment to excellence and a recognition of Bekaert's high quality standards.

ISO certifications

At the end of 2024, based on the number of Bekaert manufacturing plants, 97% have ISO9001 certification (quality) and 87% have ISO14001 certification (environment), both under the umbrella of a corporate integrated management system.

As a recognized supplier to the automotive industry, Bekaert chose to have its relevant manufacturing plants certified against IATF 16949 quality management requirements. At the end of 2024, 35% of our plants have IATF 16949 certification and are subject to a corporate audit scheme. In addition, 14% of our plants have ISO50001 certification, which demonstrates to stakeholders the ambition of Bekaert to be more energy efficient.

Engineering

Bekaert's in-house engineering department takes up a leading role in equipment technology development. To do that, we further increased the collaboration with other technology departments and external partners. At the same time, we are creating an ecosystem of knowledge clusters in engineering solutions and services with the purpose to support the plants in their journey toward world class manufacturing.

Engineering has aligned its roadmaps with the overall Bekaert ambition. Significant steps have been taken to address the growth plans of Bekaert in new or fast-growing business areas. To name one, we enable the capacity expansion of the manufacturing activities that produce Currento® porous transport layers used in electrolyzer stacks for green hydrogen power. Our proximity to customers and to Bekaert production plants, combined with extensive market knowledge, allow us to investigate opportunities quickly and be ready for capacity needs driven by demand.

Intellectual property

In 2024, Bekaert has strategically refocused its IP portfolio of more than 1 700 patents, utility models and design files and more than 1 900 trademark files. The Bekaert Group continues to drive innovation as well as a holistic approach to the protection of its intellectual property regarding new product and process technology developments, including digital assets and sustainable solutions. At the same time, refocusing our IP portfolio ensures it is fully aligned with our strategy as well as key markets, so as to leverage our IP in the most optimal and effective way.

This has led to a significant increase of filings for intellectual property rights in 2024 with 29 new first filings for patents, utility models and designs.

Digital@Bekaert

At Bekaert, we are committed to leveraging cuttingedge technologies to drive business value and optimize our operations. By harnessing the power of Data, AI, Automation, IoT, and Cloud, we enhance our processes and ensure a secure and efficient structure for delivering exceptional value to our customers.

Driving productivity, efficiency and predictability

In 2024, our strategic initiatives in operations were centered around leveraging digital technology to enhance efficiency and drive value. We continue to successfully complete MES implementations in priority plants, integrating advanced features to increase process control and resource optimization. We also increased our capabilities in Sales and

Operations Planning (S&OP) through the implementation of forecasting capabilities powered by statistical optimization and AI. These efforts not only improved our operational efficiency but also position us to realize significant value from our investments in the coming years. Our commitment to operational excellence was further demonstrated by achieving a 99.99% SLA for deployed systems and ensuring seamless integration of new entities into our infrastructure.

Our intelligent process initiatives significantly enhanced production efficiency through the strategic use of AI, particularly vision AI. We implemented a lubricant forecast MVP model, which was scaled to nine plants, optimizing over 15 circuits. Additionally, we deployed the ISC Smart Alerting track MVP in multiple locations, improving real-time monitoring and response. AI played a crucial role in these advancements, enabling precise and automated inspection processes that reduced errors and increased throughput. These intelligent processes not only streamlined operations but also set the stage for further innovations in our production capabilities.

Bringing value to our customers

In 2024, we made significant strides in advancing our digital sales channels across various business units to generate more sales and reduce the cost to serve. By implementing innovative digital tools and platforms, we enhanced customer engagement and streamlined sales processes. A notable example is the introduction of additional calculators on the BBRG sites, which provided customers with userfriendly tools to easily calculate total cost of ownership (TCO) and sustainability metrics. These enhancements not only improved the customer experience but also facilitated quicker decisionmaking and increased sales conversions. Additionally, we integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) capabilities to offer sustainability-led solutions, further differentiating our product offerings and meeting the growing demand for environmentally responsible options. Overall, our efforts in digital sales channels aim to lead to greater efficiency, higher sales volumes, and a reduction in operational costs.

Harnessing AI and Automation: Building a Future-Proof ERP and Driving Productivity at Bekaert

The future of productivity at Bekaert is poised for a transformative leap through the strategic integration of AI, Generative AI, and automation. These technologies offer unparalleled opportunities to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and drive significant efficiency gains. Our commitment to embracing these innovations is exemplified by our project to transition our ERP system to SAP S/4HANA. This move not only provides a robust and future-proof ERP foundation but also serves as a dynamic platform for process innovation. By leveraging the advanced capabilities of SAP S/4HANA, we are well-positioned to harness the full potential of AI and automation, ensuring that our processes remain agile, scalable, and ahead of the curve. This strategic initiative underscores our dedication to continuous improvement and positions us to capitalize on emerging opportunities, ultimately driving sustained productivity increases and delivering exceptional value to our stakeholders.

Securing our digital assets

Cyber risks can affect intellectual property protection and data privacy. Therefore, information security – securing our company's and customers' data, assets, and privacy – is critical, especially with many of our team members working remotely. Our employees are our strongest link, and the most effective protection is their awareness of information security risks and cyber threats. Our Information Security Rules explain the actions we can take to defend against cybercriminals and ensure that our information remains protected.

Research & Innovation partnerships

Our vision is to build and leverage on partnerships and collaborations to meet the business and ecosystems needs for technology and innovation at Bekaert. These partners support Bekaert to:

• Develop a sustainable business portfolio
• Explore and design new sustainable solutions with best-in-class science and innovation partners
• Anticipate trends and be a key player in climate change, energy transition and societal challenges
• Create value for our stakeholders

We are working with a wide range of external partners including academics, research institutes, universities, engineering schools, SMEs, and large industrial players to deploy our vision. Herewith are examples of academic and research partners in various areas of technological and digital developments.

Bekaert has been active in securing national and European funding in 2024 for projects relating to Hydrogen technology, Corrosion and Metallurgy.

External collaborations in Hydrogen, Corrosion, Metallurgy, Sensors, Automation, Fluid Dynamics and Coatings have continued to be successful in 2024, supporting our stakeholder's needs.

Bekaert supported key Technology & Innovation projects by funding existing, new Phd and Masters student projects in 2024.

Financial highlights FY2024

• Consolidated sales of € 4.0 billion (-8.6%) and combined sales¹ of € 4.9 billion (-9.0%)
  • Volumes were -3.5% lower reducing sales by € -151 million
  • Sales were impacted by € -170 million (-3.9%) from the pass through of lower wire rod and energy costs
  • Smaller effects from price and mix (€ -52 million, -1.2%) and currency (€ -31 million, -0.7%)
  • Sales from acquisitions added € +33 million (+0.8%) to the top line
• Stable underlying gross profit margin at 17.3% (vs 17.2% in FY2023) despite lower volumes • Strong focus on costs and production capacity optimization
• Solid operating result and stable margin performance in a deteriorating market
• EBITDAu² of € 520 million (-7.3%), EBITDAu margin on sales of 13.1% (vs 13.0% in FY2023)
• EBITu² of € 348 million (-10.3%), EBITu margin of 8.8% (vs 9.0% in FY2023)
• Improved performance in the non-consolidated Brazilian joint ventures with higher sales volumes (+3%) and an increased share of net results (+5%, to € 49 million)
• EPS of € 4.56 (-4% vs € 4.75 in FY2023) and EPSu² of € 5.55 (-4% vs €5.76 in FY2023)
• Robust cash generation, despite lower sales
  • Free Cash Flow² (FCF) of € 193 million, compared to € 267 million in FY2023
  • Net debt remains low at € 283 million (€ 254 million at FY2023, € 399 million at H1 2024), resulting in stable net debt to EBITDAu of 0.5x (vs 0.5x at FY2023 and 0.7x at H1 2024)
• Proposed dividend of € 1.90 per share (+6% y-on-y), alongside the ongoing € 200 million share buyback

¹ Combined sales are sales of fully consolidated companies plus 100% of sales of joint ventures and associates after intercompany elimination

² EBITu = underlying EBIT, EBITDAu = underlying EBITDA, EPSu = underlying earnings per share and FCF = Free Cash Flow and all are defined Alternative Performance Measures (APMs). The full list of all APMs can be found at the end of Part II: Financial Statements.

Resilient delivery in challenging business environment

Bekaert delivered a resilient financial performance in 2024, with stable profit margins (EBITu margin at 8.8%) and robust cash flows (Free Cash Flow of € 193 million). Despite lower volumes and weaker conditions in many of its end markets, the business continues to benefit from the successful execution of Bekaert's strategy of portfolio rationalization, pricing discipline, improving the mix of higher margin products, and driving further cost efficiencies.

Segment reports

Rubber Reinforcement: resilient performance in weaker end markets

Operational and financial performance

Despite increasingly weaker end markets, particularly in Europe and China, Rubber Reinforcement delivered a resilient performance through its focus on costs, mix and business selection.

The division reported lower third party sales (-9.5%) as a result of lower volumes (-2.2%) and lower passed-on material and energy costs in sales prices (-6.1%). Price and mix effects were broadly stable (-0.2%) and currency movements amounted to -1.1%. Sales volumes decreased in Europe and North America (-3%) through lower demand and increased tire imports into those regions. In China, volumes decreased versus a very strong 2023 (-5%) driven by lower economic activity. Volumes were up in Indonesia and in India, where new production capacity has now been installed to serve increasing local demand.

Competition in the global tire market continues to intensify, with weak demand in many regions. Therefore, the Rubber Reinforcement division is focused on costs, footprint and business mix, while pursuing selective growth opportunities such as in India. The division delivered an underlying EBIT of € 150 million, down € -34 million from last year. Margins were impacted most in Europe with lower sales volumes and related occupation levels. The EBITu margin was resilient at 8.7%, which is -90 bps below last year but +70 bps versus 2022 when volumes were higher.

The underlying EBITDA margin was 13.5% compared with 14.0% last year and underlying ROCE was 14.3%. Capital expenditure (PP&E) amounted to € 84 million and this included selected capacity investments in Vietnam and India. The one-off elements were € -18 million and were primarily related to restructuring costs in Belgium and China and environmental costs for closed sites. Reported EBIT was € 132 million.

Combined sales and joint venture performance

The Rubber Reinforcement joint venture in Brazil achieved € 172 million in sales in 2024, down -9.2%. Volumes increased by +5.4% due to increased market share while lower input costs and price effects had an impact of -7.2% and currency impact was -7.3%. Including joint ventures, the business unit's combined sales were € 1 873 million versus € 2 070 million last year. The margin performance of the joint venture improved through higher sales volumes as well as improved operational leverage and ongoing cost savings.

Market perspectives

The global tire market is expected to remain subdued in H1 2025 given the uncertain economic and political outlook. Changes in duties will impact supply chains, however Bekaert is potentially well positioned to mitigate given our more local footprint and alternative sources of supply from various low cost countries. The business unit remains very focused on key account management and costs, and in the longer term driving market trends towards higher recycled steel content and higher performance tire cords.

Steel Wire Solutions: another year of strategic progress with excellent margin improvement and cash flow generation

Operational and financial performance

2024 has been another year of excellent progress in the Steel Wire Solutions division. Despite lower volumes overall and lower raw material costs reducing revenues, the division strongly improved profitability and cash generation in the year. It benefited from a smaller footprint, cost reduction actions, disciplined price management and good momentum in key end markets. Higher-margin energy and utilities, and automotive segments were robust, offsetting weaker demand in lower margin consumer and construction end markets.

Steel Wire Solutions consolidated third party sales were € 1 068 million for the full year 2024, down -8.7% versus last year. Volumes were -5.9% lower of which two thirds related to the discontinued operations in India and Indonesia. Volumes also decreased in Latin America (Colombia and Ecuador). Volume increases in China supported by strong growth in automotive were offset by small volume decreases in Europe and North America where construction and consumer product sales decreased while energy and utility product sales increased. Lower raw material costs passed-on to customers had an impact on sales of -2.6%.

The strategic transformation actions around footprint, cost savings and business selection have structurally improved the overall quality of the business and its profitability. The EBITu margin improved by almost 3 percentage points to 10.4% in 2024. The underlying EBITDA margin was 13.1%, up from 10.2% last year and underlying ROCE improved to 28.2%.

Capital expenditure (PP&E) amounted to € 35 million and included capacity investments to meet strong demand from energy and utility customers. The one-off elements were € -3 million and reported EBIT was € 110 million (up +€ 35 million versus last year). As part of its portfolio optimization, the division has agreed to sell its business in in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Combined sales and joint venture performance

The Steel Wire Solutions joint venture in Brazil reported sales of € 742 million, -10.6% compared with 2023. Despite increased imports, an increase in market share led to higher volumes (+2.8%). Other impacts came from currency translation effects (-7.3%) and lower pricing primarily due to lower wire rod costs (-6.0%). Including joint ventures, the combined sales were € 1 813 million. The joint venture had another year with strong margin performance.

Market perspectives

Order books for 2025 are solid in the energy and utilities end market with fully booked capacities for the subsea cable sub-segment in Europe and a successful renewal of a long term supply agreement in North-America. Automotive markets continue to be strong in China while less so in Europe. Overall, the division continues its transformational progress with focus on cost, pricing and portfolio optimization and innovation.

Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group: resolving operational issues, but impacted sales and margins

Operational and financial performance

The Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG) division made good progress in Q4 resolving the operational issues in its European and North American plants, with a return to normal production levels. This could not, however, offset the impact of lower performance in the Steel Ropes sub-segment during the year. Softer demand in mining and crane and industrial markets had an additional impact on sales. The Synthetic Ropes sub-segment grew strongly in sales and profitability thanks to the acquisitions of BEXCO and Flintstone. Advanced services in Ropes grew in sales, while the Advanced Cords sub-segment had weaker sales in timing belts that was partially offset by better elevator hoisting sales throughout most of the year.

Consolidated third party sales decreased by -6.2% principally in H1 2024. Volumes (-11.7%) decreased primarily in the Ropes business in Europe and North America and to a lesser degree in Australia in the mining sector. Volumes in Advanced Cords were flat. Strong price and mix effects (+2.3%) offset lower raw material impacts (-1.4%). Additional sales from acquisitions added +5.7% to the top-line and the currency impact was -1.1%. Lower sales and lower cost absorption due to the operational issues drove the underlying EBIT margin down from 12.3% to 9.0%, primarily in Steel Ropes. A much better Q4 in Steel Ropes improved the margin up from 7.4% in H1 to 10.5% in H2 2024.

Underlying EBITDA was 15.0%, down from 17.4% last year, and underlying ROCE was 9.1%. The € -8 million oneoff costs related mainly to restructuring of Synthetic Ropes activities in Scotland where we have closed one plant, following a footprint review. BBRG invested € 23 million in PP&E, mainly in its Steel Ropes activities in UK and US, in Synthetic Ropes activities in Belgium, and in Advanced Cords plants in China and Belgium.

Market perspectives

The backlog in the orderbook has reduced significantly in Q4 with the improved operational performance and is likely to return to a more typical level in Q1 2025. While market outlook in Europe is uncertain, the outlook is better in North America and in the mining end market in Australia. In Advanced Cords, the lower demand in Q4 for hoisting cords will continue into Q1 2025.

Specialty Businesses: navigating short term challenges in end markets

Operational and financial performance

Specialty Businesses recorded € 630 million in consolidated third party sales, -7.0% versus 2023. Volumes increased 1% in Sustainable Construction, while sales in the Hydrogen sub-segment grew around 40%. The normalization of product pricing in the construction sector (compared with exceptionally high levels in the last two years) reduced revenues. There was a lower demand for ultra fine wire, combustion, and hose and conveyor belt products. The impact from currency movements was -0.6%.

The Sustainable Construction business had volume growth in all regions except in North America, where there were fewer sizeable flooring and tunneling projects in 2024. Revenues at constant currencies reduced by -7.7% driven by passed-on lower raw material costs, regional mix effects and normalized pricing levels. Volumes increased primarily in growth regions like India, Latin America, Turkey and the Middle East and also the mix of patented 4D/5D Dramix® products exceeded 50% of total volumes for the first time. The division won its first projects for Sigmaslab® elevated floors in Central America and on seamless flooring in China, as well as a prestigious tunneling project in Saudi Arabia.

The green hydrogen projects that are now post Final Investment Decision increased by more than 80% compared with 2023 (from 9 GW to 16 GW). However, project cancellations and policy uncertainty have slowed expected progress. The Hydrogen sub-segment sales increased around 40% versus 2023 and the business has finalized qualifications and contracts with several new customers. The ramp-up of production capacity and product development has been carefully phased to ensure the cost base is aligned with demand.

Filtration and fiber end markets have been stable. The demand for ultra fine wires was lower in H2 2024 following a technology transition to non-steel based alternatives for solar applications, which was partly offset by increased volumes for the semiconductor sector. The Hose and Conveyor Belt and Combustion Technologies sub-segments faced lower demand. All businesses have taken actions to reduce costs and optimize footprint.

The underlying EBIT margin in Sustainable Construction came down to more normalized levels after a period where mix was very strong due to exceptional supply conditions. The margin in the hydrogen business grew along with sales increase while margins in the remaining sub-segments were impacted by weaker end markets. This led to a margin for Specialty Businesses of 13.8% versus 16.2% last year. The underlying EBITDA margin reached 17.2% and underlying ROCE was 23.2%. The € -15 million one-off costs related to restructuring of Fiber, Ultra Fine Wire and Combustion activities in Belgium, China, and The Netherlands.

Capital expenditure (PP&E) amounted to € 46 million. This related mainly to investments for porous transport layers (hydrogen) in Belgium.

Market perspectives

The global infrastructure industry is expected to grow in 2025 and there is a healthy pipeline of tunneling and flooring projects in growth regions despite lower activity in the construction sector in Europe. While the division expects volume growth in 2025 driven by a continued increase in adoption outside Europe, visibility for the full year is not fully clear. In the short term, the energy transition end markets remain subdued and uncertain, but longer term, the fundamentals remain and the division continues to see strong customer interest in its innovative products.

Financial review

Sales performance

Bekaert's consolidated sales were € 3 958 million in 2024, -8.6% lower than last year. The top line was impacted most by passed-on lower raw material and energy costs (-3.9%) and lower volumes (-3.5%). Pricing and mix effects (-1.2%) were mainly limited to regional mix and a more normalized pricing climate in Sustainable Construction. Currency effects (-0.7%) were offset by sales from acquisitions (+0.8%), relating to BEXCO.

The sales in Bekaert's joint ventures in Brazil amounted to € 914 million, -10.3% lower than last year. Volumes increased with +3.2%, while sales decreased due to currency translation effects (-7.3%) in combination with passed-on input costs and pricing and mix effects (-6.1%). Including joint ventures, combined sales decreased by -9.0%, reaching € 4 868 million.

Profit performance

The underlying gross profit of the Group was down € -61 million to € 684 million, while the gross profit margin remained stable (17.3% vs 17.2% for FY2023). Lower sales volumes had a negative impact while reduced production output reduced fixed cost absorption, and there was price erosion in Sustainable Construction due to increased competition in Europe. The Group has taken actions to extract cost efficiencies in operations as well as in overheads. Together with a positive incremental mix effect from sales of higher margin products in energy and utilities markets Bekaert demonstrated stable margin performance in challenging market conditions.

Underlying overheads decreased by € -12 million versus 2023 to € 353 million, from reductions in IT and staff costs and a small (€ +1.4 million versus 2023) increase in capitalization of development projects. As a percentage on sales, overheads were 8.9% (vs 8.4% in 2023). Other operating revenues and expenses amounted to € +18 million (vs € +8 million in 2023) and included higher government grants and gains on sales of land and buildings.

Bekaert achieved an operating result (EBITu) of € 348 million (versus € 388 million last year). This resulted in an EBITu margin on sales of 8.8% (vs 9.0% in 2023). The decrease in absolute amounts relates to lower sales volumes (€ -54 million), lower operational leverage (€ -22 million) and currencies (€ -4 million) and was partially offset by improved price-mix effects (€ +8 million), lower organic overhead expenses (€ +14 million) and other impacts (€ +19 million, including other operational revenues and lower depreciation).

The one-off items amounted to € -52 million versus € -54 million in 2023. Restructuring one-off costs were € -44 million and these included severance pay costs as well as plant restructuring costs in Belgium, UK, The Netherlands and China. Other one-off costs related to environmental provisions (€ -5 million) and other (€ -3 million). Including one-off items, reported EBIT was € 296 million, representing an EBIT margin on sales of 7.5% (versus € 334 million or 7.7% in 2023). Underlying EBITDA was € 520 million (13.1% margin) compared with € 561 million (13.0%) and reported EBITDA reached € 457 million, or a margin on sales of 11.6% (versus 12.1%).

Interest income and expenses were substantially lower at € -20 million (vs € -27 million in 2023), because of lower gross debt and higher interest income. Other financial income and expenses also were much lower at € -19 million (vs € -39 million in 2023) driven by lower bank charges, positive valuation impacts on virtual power purchase agreements and less negative exchange results compared to last year.

Income taxes remained stable at € -63 million (vs € -62 million in 2023) with an overall effective tax rate of 24%. The tax line included utilization of previously unrecognized tax losses.

The share in the result of joint ventures and associated companies was € +49 million (vs € +47 million in 2023). The Steel Wire Solutions joint venture in Brazil performed well with a +3% volume increase while the much smaller Rubber Reinforcement joint venture also had a volume increase (+5%). Both divisions improved their positions in their respective domestic end markets. The underlying EBIT margin of the joint ventures improved from 14.5% in 2023 to 17.9% in 2024.

The result for the period from continuing operations thus totaled € +244 million, compared with € +253 million in 2023. The result attributable to non-controlling interests was € +5 million (vs € -2 million in 2023). After noncontrolling interests, the result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert was € +239 million. Earnings per share amounted to € +4.56, -4% down from € +4.75 last year. Earnings per share on an underlying basis had a similar evolution at € +5.55 versus € +5.76 last year.

Balance sheet

Working capital had a small increase to € 653 million from € 641 million last year with increases in inventories that were only partially offset by higher accounts payable. Considering the additional working capital from newly acquired entities (€ +10 million) and currency effects (€ +9 million), the working capital decreased versus last year on a comparable basis at constant exchange rates. Off balance sheet factoring decreased from € 232 million in 2023 to € 221 million in 2024. Due to the combined effect of higher working capital on lower sales, the average working capital on sales increased from 15.2% to 16.5%.

Cash on hand was € 504 million at the end of the period, a decrease of € -128 million compared with the € 632 million at the close of 2023. Main elements were repayment of part of the Schuldschein loans (€ -75 million), cash out for dividend payments (€ -96 million), and the acquisition of BEXCO (€ -39 million), offset by cash generation of the business.

Net debt amounted to € 283 million, up € +29 million from € 254 million last year driven by lower cash on hand partly offset by reduced gross debt. This resulted in net debt on underlying EBITDA of 0.54 versus 0.45 at the end of 2023.

Cash flow statement

Cash flows from operating activities amounted to € 374 million, compared with € 440 million in 2023 because of lower EBITDA generation.

The Free Cash Flow (FCF) amounted to € 193 million versus € 267 million in 2023, principally from lower cash from operating activities. Smaller impacts relate to increases in working capital and investments to support future growth.

Cash flows attributable to investing activities amounted to € -200 million (versus € -41 million in 2023). The difference being principally the cash out this year for the acquisition of BEXCO (€ -39 million) and last year's proceeds from the disposal of the businesses in Chile and Peru (€ +109 million). There was also an additional but much smaller impact from cash out for investments in plant and equipment and intangibles (€ +12 million).

Cash flows from financing activities totaled € -307 million, compared with € -482 million last year. In 2023 the Group paid back more gross debt for the Schuldschein loans (€ -189 million last year versus € -75 million this year) and also the share buy back and other treasury share transactions was bigger then (€ -99 million last year versus € -30 million this year).

Committed to return value to our shareholders

The Board of Directors is committed to maintaining a strategic capital allocation policy, balancing investment in future growth and innovation, with maintaining a strong balance sheet and growing shareholder returns over time. The group is continuing its policy of progressively growing the dividend year-on-year and today announces a gross dividend of € 1.90 per share (an increase of 6% y-on-y), to be proposed by the Board at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in May 2025. This proposed dividend to shareholders would be alongside the ongoing buyback of up to € 200 million of Bekaert shares.

Operational and strategic highlights

• Improved mix positively contributing to EBIT and minimizing the impact of lower volumes
• Intense focus on cost efficiencies and operational excellence
  • Further initiatives across cost base planned in 2025
• Resolving operational issues in steel rope activities (BBRG) in Europe and North America with a return to normal production output in Q4 2024
  • Order books remain supportive
• Some delays to growth platforms, but long-term outlook remains robust
  • Customer engagement remains excellent
  • Modular ramp-up ensuring capacity is matching demand, and costs are well controlled
• Successful integration of recent acquisitions of BEXCO & Flintstone
• Steel Wire Solutions disposal agreed in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela for an enterprise value of approximately US\$ 73 million and net proceeds of approximately US\$ 37 million, representing a EV/EBITDA multiple of 6.3x
• In 2024 Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduced by around 5% against 2023, in line with our longterm ambition

Outlook

The conditions in many of our end markets deteriorated through the second half of 2024 and Bekaert took action to protect margins and cash flows despite falling volumes and prices. The weak business environment of H2 2024 is expected to persist into 2025. Therefore, the group expects flat revenues for 2025 and at least stable margins, with a more equally weighted first and second half split.

Summary financial statement

		Underlying				Reported
in millions of €	2023	H1 2023	H2 2023	2024	H1 2024	H2 2024	2023	2024
Consolidated sales	4 328	2 318	2 010	3 958	2 060	1 898	4 328	3 958
Operating result (EBIT)	388	226	163	348	204	144	334	296
EBIT margin on sales	9.0 %	9.7 %	8.1 %	8.8 %	9.9 %	7.6 %	7.7 %	7.5 %
Depreciation, amortization and impairment losses	173	92	81	172	84	88	189	161
EBITDA	561	317	244	520	288	232	523	457
EBITDA margin on sales	13.0 %	13.7 %	12.1 %	13.1 %	14.0 %	12.2 %	12.1 %	11.6 %
ROCE	18.2 %			15.8 %			15.7 %	13.5 %
Combined sales	5 347	2 852	2 495	4 868	2 511	2 357	5 347	4 868

Consolidated Financial Statements are included in Part II of this report.

Our leadership

Board of Directors

The main tasks of the Board of Directors are to determine the Group's strategy and general policy, and to monitor Bekaert's operations. This includes the Group's sustainability strategy and progress monitoring. The Board of Directors is the company's prime decisionmaking body except for matters reserved by law or by the articles of association to the General Meeting of Shareholders. The Board of Directors currently consists of nine members. Their professional profiles cover different areas of expertise, such as law, business, industrial operations, finance and investment banking, HR, consultancy, ESG, innovation and compliance.

All information about the Board of Directors (nomination and selection, committees, remuneration) is available in Part II: Corporate Governance Statements of this report.

Composition of the Board of Directors

Jürgen Tinggren, Chairman¹
Yves Kerstens, CEO
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog¹
Christophe Jacobs van Merlen
Maxime Parmentier
Eriikka Söderström¹
Caroline Storme
Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke
Henri Jean Velge
1 Independent Directors

Changes in 2024

The term of office of the independent Director Mei Ye expired on 8 May 2024. She did not seek re-election.

As a result, the number of Directors decreased from ten to nine in 2024.

Jürgen Tinggren

Chairman of the Board Independent Director

Nationality: Swedish Year of birth: 1958 First appointed: May 2019

Education:

Stockholm School of Economics New York University Leonard N Stern School of Business

Experience:

Jürgen Tinggren was appointed independent Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bekaert on 8 May 2019.

He started his career in 1981 as Senior Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton and joined Sika AG in 1985 to take on various managerial and executive functions of increasingly broader scope and responsibility. In 1997, Jürgen Tinggren joined the Executive Committee of Schindler Holding AG. In 2007, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of the Group Executive Committee of Schindler. He became a member of the Board of Directors in 2014.

Other mandates: Member of the Board of Johnson Controls, Inc.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2027

Committees: Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee Member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee

Yves Kerstens

Chief Executive Officer Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1966 First appointed: September 2023

Education:

Engineering - Industrial Management Catholic University of Louvain INSEAD Business School of Paris

Experience:

Yves Kerstens started his career in supply chain roles in the manufacturing industry before he moved to Ernst & Young (1996) and later Capgemini (2001) as an advisor to the trade & industry sector.

In 2005, he joined Bridgestone Corporation where he took on executive functions of increasingly broader scope and responsibility in EMEA and Asia Pacific, as well as global corporate governance roles as Vice President & Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corporation and Chairman of the global digital solutions and supply chain committee. In 2018, Yves joined Axalta Coating Systems, where he most recently held the role of Vice President Axalta and President EMEA.

Yves Kerstens joined Bekaert on 1 April 2021 as Divisional CEO Specialty Businesses and COO. He became CEO of Bekaert on 1 September 2023.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2028

Henriette Fenger Ellekrog

Member of the Board Independent Director

Nationality: Danish Year of birth: 1966 First appointed: May 2020

Education:

Master's degree, Copenhagen Business School

Experience:

Henriette Fenger Ellekrog is Chief Human Resources Officer at Ørsted.

Ms Henriette Fenger Ellekrog started her career at Peptech A/S where she became Director of Administration and Personnel. Next, she took up consultancy and management functions at Mercuri Urval A/S. Ms Ellekrog continued her career at TDC in several executive HR roles before moving to SAS AB as Executive VP HR. More recently, she served as CHRO at Danske Bank A/S. Currently, she is Chief Human Resources Officer at Ørsted.

Ms Ellekrog has served on several advisory boards and committees since 2003. She is currently a member of the Board of SAS AB, where she chairs the Remuneration Committee. She holds an MA from Copenhagen Business School and has taken various leadership and business programs at INSEAD, London Business School and Wharton Business School.

Other mandates: Member of the Board and Chair of the Remuneration Committee of SAS AB

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2025

Committees: Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Christophe Jacobs van Merlen

Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian

Year of birth: 1978

First appointed: May 2016

Education:

Free University of Brussels Ecole Centrale Lille (Ingénieur Généraliste)

Experience:

Christophe Jacobs van Merlen is currently Managing Director at Bain Capital Europe and member of the Leadership team and member of different board, audit, operating and M&A committees. He plays a leading role in a variety of investments at Bain Capital.

He joined Bain Capital Europe, LLP (London) in 2004. Christophe Jacobs van Merlen was previously a Consultant at Bain & Company in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Boston, where he provided strategic and operational advice to private equity, business services, industrial, and financial services clients.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2028

Committees: Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee

Maxime Parmentier

Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1982

First appointed: May 2022

Education:

Catholic University of Louvain Esade-CEMS Business School of Barcelona Columbia University of New York

Experience:

Maxime Parmentier is founder and CEO of Birdie Care Services Ltd, a London-based health technology scale-up aimed at improving the lives and care for the elderly.

He started his career in 2008 with McKinsey & Company before joining Riaktr. In 2013, Maxime Parmentier moved to The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, where he took roles of increasing responsibility. Before establishing Birdie in 2017, he founded and headed Wambo, a health e-marketplace, and he worked for Kamet Ventures (AXA).

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2027

Eriikka Söderström

Member of the Board Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee Independent Director

Nationality: Finnish Year of birth: 1968

First appointed: May 2020

Education:

Master of Science in Economics, University of Vaasa

Experience:

Eriikka Söderström is an Independent Director with a strong finance background. She started her career at Nokia Networks and worked there for 14 years. Her role included several finance leadership roles including the interim CFO of Nokia Networks and the Corporate Controller of Nokia Siemens Networks. She also worked as the CFO of several globally operating industrial and technology companies including Vacon, Kone and F-Secure.

Other mandates: Member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Valmet until April 2024, member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Kempower, member of the Board of Directors of Amadeus IT Group.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2025

Committees: Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee

Caroline Storme

Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1977

First appointed: May 2019

Education:

Solvay Management School, Free University of Brussels, and INSEAD France and Singapore

Caroline Storme holds the position of R&D Finance Lead Neurology at UCB in Belgium.

She started her career with Deloitte Consulting in 2000 in Belgium. Caroline Storme worked at Bekaert as financial controller from 2004-2006 before she moved to Amtech, IGW based in Suzhou, China where she was appointed CFO. She joined UCB in 2012, first in controlling functions before heading Asian global business services, based in Shanghai, China, and since 2017 in various R&D financial functions at UCB Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2027

Committees: Member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee

Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke

Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1981

First appointed: May 2016

Education:

Catholic University of Louvain, Free University of Brussels, and London School of Economics

Experience:

Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke is the Head of Legal at Sofina, a family run investment company listed on Euronext Brussels.

She joined Sofina in 2016 after more than 10 years with the Brussels Bar. She was a member of the corporate and finance team at Freshfields, where she advised on Mergers and Acquisitions, corporate governance, restructurings, joint ventures, and financial law.

At Sofina, Ms. van de Walle de Ghelcke oversees M&A transactions, corporate governance, compliance, legal and listed company matters, and is active in the monitoring of the portfolio companies. She also took a leading role in the definition and implementation of Sofina's sustainability strategy

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2028

Henri Jean Velge

Member of the Board

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1956 First appointed: May 2016

Education: Catholic University of Louvain and IMD

Experience:

Henri Jean Velge started his career in 1981 at Shell (The Netherlands) as wellsite petroleum Engineer. He moved to Brunei in 1982 as Operations Manager and resigned from Shell in 1985 to obtain an MBA degree.

In 1987 Henri Jean Velge joined Bekaert as Executive Director of Industrias Chilenas de Alambre (Chile). In 1991 he moved to the United States and became Corporate Vice President Wire Americas in June 1994. In 2001 he was appointed Executive Vice President and became member of the Bekaert Group Executive, responsible for the global wire activities. From 2013 till mid 2014 he was responsible for all the business platforms.

Other mandates: Chairman of Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert, representing the interests of the reference shareholder of Bekaert.

Appointed until: Annual General Meeting of 2028

Committees: Member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee

Bekaert Group Executive

The Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) assumes the operational responsibility for the Company's activities and acts under the supervision of the Board of Directors. The BGE is chaired by Yves Kerstens, Chief Executive Officer.

Organizational structure

The composition of the Bekaert Group Executive reflects the organizational structure with four Business Units and five Global Functional Domains. In 2024, the Business Units and Global Functions were led by the following Executives.

Business units

• The business unit Rubber Reinforcement (serving the tire industries that use tire cord and bead wire) is led by Annie Xu-Huhmann, Divisional CEO Rubber Reinforcement
• The business unit Steel Wire Solutions (serving energy & utility, industrial, agricultural, consumer and construction markets with a broad range of steel wire products and solutions) is led by François Desné, Divisional CEO Steel Wire Solutions
• The business unit Specialty Businesses (including building products/sustainable construction led by Eric Peeters, and fiber technologies, combustion technology and hose reinforcement wire) is led by Yves Kerstens, CEO
• The business unit Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (including the steel ropes, synthetic ropes and advanced cords businesses) is led by François Desné, Divisional CEO Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group

The business units have global P&L accountability for strategy and delivery in their distinct areas, with dedicated production facilities and commercial and technology teams. This helps them develop a customer-centric approach aligned with the specific needs and dynamics of their markets.

Global Functions

• Seppo Parvi, Chief Financial Officer
• Kerstin Artenberg, Chief Human Resources Officer
• Juan Carlos Alonso, Chief Strategy Officer
• Barry Snyder, Chief Operating Officer
• Gunter Van Craen, Chief Digital and Information Officer

The Functions take a role as strategic business partners, providing specific expertise and services across the Group, and ensuring the business has the right capability to deliver on short- and long-term goals.

Changes during 2024

On 1 May 2024, Eric Peeters joined Bekaert as Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction. Sustainable Construction is a subdivision of the business unit Specialty Businesses.

On 1 November 2024, Seppo Parvi was appointed as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Taoufiq Boussaid who left the company on 31 October 2024.

On 6 December 2024 it was announced that Juan Carlos Alonso, Chief Strategy Officer will be leaving Bekaert on 31 March 2025. Christophe Nauts will join Bekaert as Group Strategy & Transformation Officer from 14 April 2025.

Yves Kerstens

Chief Executive Officer

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1966 Joined Bekaert: 2021

Education:

Engineering - Industrial Management Catholic University of Louvain INSEAD Business School of Paris

Experience:

Yves Kerstens started his career in supply chain roles in the manufacturing industry before he moved to Ernst & Young (1996) and later Capgemini (2001) as an advisor to the trade & industry sector.

In 2005, he joined Bridgestone Corporation where he took on executive functions of increasingly broader scope and responsibility in EMEA and Asia Pacific, as well as global corporate governance roles as Vice President & Senior Officer of Bridgestone Corporation and Chairman of the global digital solutions and supply chain committee. In 2018, Yves joined Axalta Coating Systems, where he most recently held the role of Vice President Axalta and President EMEA.

Yves Kerstens joined Bekaert on 1 April 2021 as Divisional CEO Specialty Businesses and COO. He became CEO of Bekaert on 1 September 2023.

Seppo Parvi

Chief Financial Officer

Nationality: Finnish Year of birth: 1964 Joined Bekaert: 2024

Education:

Master of Science in Economics - University of Vaasa

Experience:

Seppo started his financial career with Ahlstrom Corporation in 1989 in treasury.

Following a move to Huhtamaki (1993-2006), where he initially worked in finance and sourcing roles in Finland, Poland and Türkiye, and later as VP Operations and General Manager. He joined the Metsa Board as CFO in 2006. He then returned to Ahlstrom in 2009.

For the next five years, Seppo extended his career experience and became a member of Ahlstrom's executive management team, holding Group CFO and business division head roles with the company.

In 2014, he joined Stora Enso where he was CFO, Deputy to the CEO and country manager for their business in Finland.

Seppo Parvi joined Bekaert on 1 November 2024 as Chief Financial Officer.

Juan Carlos Alonso

Chief Strategy Officer

Nationality: Mexican Year of birth: 1974 Joined Bekaert: 2019

Education:

Engineering - MBA Universidad Panamericana of Mexico City Stanford Graduate School of Business

Experience:

Juan Carlos Alonso began his career in 1998 with the Boston Consulting Group. In 2006, he joined CEMEX to become Global Corporate Strategic Planning Manager, based in Spain. He moved to the Comex Group in 2010 as Vice President of Sales & Operations for the US Western Region, before joining Lhoist Group where he held various business development and strategy leadership positions with increasing responsibility and scope.

In 2017, Juan Carlos moved to the Imerys Group as Head of the Americas and development regions for the Monolithic Refractories division and, in parallel, as Global Head of Strategy, Business Development and Marketing for the High Temperature Solutions business.

Note: On 6 December 2024 it was announced that Juan Carlos Alonso, Chief Strategy Officer will be leaving Bekaert on 31 March 2025.

Kerstin Artenberg

Chief Human Resources Officer

Nationality: German Year of birth: 1972 Joined Bekaert: 2021

Education:

East Asian Economics - Strategic HR Management University of Duisburg-Essen University of Applied Sciences of Zürich

Experience:

Kerstin Artenberg began her career in communication and marketing roles, holding several leadership positions at Körber AG and Daimler AG.

In 2007, Kerstin joined Borealis in Austria as External Communications Manager and soon after assumed the role of Director Communications. From 2010 onwards, she gradually expanded her responsibilities towards HR functions and in 2016, she took on the role of Vice President Human Resources & Communications. In 2020, she joined the newly established Executive Committee.

Throughout her career, Kerstin has driven cultural transformations with a focus on developing organizations which provide purpose and deep development opportunities for their employees.

François Desné

Divisional CEO Steel Wire Solutions and Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group

Nationality: French

Year of birth: 1971

Joined Bekaert: 2022

Education:

Physics - MBA - International Studies University of Paris VII, The Wharton School and The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania

Experience:

François Desné started his career in 1996 at RHODIA where he held management roles in quality and development. In 2003, he moved to BASF where he took on several regional and global leadership positions across Europe and Asia with increasingly broader scope and responsibility as SVP of Global Business units.

In 2016, François Desné joined Recticel as Group General Manager of Recticel Engineered Foams and member of the Recticel Group Executive Committee.

Eric Peeters

Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction

Sustainable Construction is a subdivision of the business unit Specialty Businesses.

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1969

Joined Bekaert: 2024

Education:

Master of Science in Chemical Engineering - University of Leuven

Experience:

Eric Peeters began his career in 1992 with Dow Corning with a focus on process engineering. In 2002, he moved into the first of a series of general management and executive leadership roles which would extend his experience across multiple end markets and business units in the company's portfolio. In 2020 he was appointed Vice President for Sustainability, Coatings & Performance Materials at Dow.

Barry Snyder

Chief Operating Officer

Nationality: American Year of birth: 1962

Joined Bekaert: 2023

Education:

Master of Science and PhD in Chemistry – MBA Emory University of Atlanta Harvard University in Cambridge Temple University in Philadelphia

Experience:

Barry Snyder has a strong track record of global executive leadership with extensive industry experience in specialty chemicals and materials.

Barry began his career in 1990 with Rohm and Haas Company where he held roles of increasing responsibility in marketing and research, across different geographies. From 2007 to 2014 he took on technology and innovation leadership positions at Celanese Corporation and HB Fuller Company (US) and at Orion Engineered Carbons (Germany). In 2015, Barry Snyder joined Axalta Coating Systems in the US, first as Chief Technology Officer and subsequently as Chief Operations and Supply Chain Officer. He also held operational responsibilities at Axalta as Regional Leader EMEA, based in Switzerland.

Gunter Van Craen

Chief Digital and Information Officer

Nationality: Belgian Year of birth: 1970

Joined Bekaert: 2020

Education:

Commercial Engineering - Accountancy and Auditing - Computer Auditing Catholic University of Louvain University of Antwerp

Experience:

Gunter Van Craen started his career in internal auditing at KBC. In 2003, he joined Johnson & Johnson where he took on several IT and finance management functions of increasingly broader scope and responsibility.

Initially in finance roles, Gunter moved to global IT functions and became CIO for the integration of Crucell into Janssen Pharmaceutica and subsequently global VP IT Pharma R&D. His last position before joining Bekaert was SVP IT for technology services at J&J, covering all IT related services across EMEA, Latin America and Asia.

Annie Xu-Huhmann

Divisional CEO Rubber Reinforcement

Nationality: Chinese

Year of birth: 1975

Joined Bekaert: 2023

Education:

DBA candidate, CEIBS MBA, Master of Business Informatics, Erasmus University Aeronautic Engineering, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Experience:

Annie Xu-Huhmann has held multiple global and regional P&L roles in Europe and China, with a track record of profitable growth and business turnaround.

Prior to joining Bekaert group, Annie has held various senior management positions at blue chip multinational corporations such as Thyssenkrupp Elevator, SMS Group, Schneider Electric, Siemens AG and General Electric. In all, she has over 25 years of extensive experience in the industrial engineering, metal and energy sectors.

PART II

Statements

On 1 January 2020, the 2020 Belgian Code on Corporate Governance (the "Code 2020") and the new Belgian Code on Companies and Associations (the "BCCA") entered into force and became applicable to NV Bekaert SA (the "Company"). The Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter and the Articles of Association of the Company were amended to bring both in line with the Code 2020 and the BCCA.

The Company complies with the provisions of the Code 2020, except with provision 7.6.

Contrary to provision 7.6 of the Code 2020 according to which non-executive Directors should receive part of their remuneration in the form of shares in the company and these shares should be held until at least one year after the non-executive Director leaves the Board and at least three years after the moment of award, nonexecutive Directors are recommended (but not required):

• To build up a personal shareholding of one annual fixed Board fee during the period of their tenure; and
• to maintain this until at least one year after the non-executive Director leaves the Board and at least three years after the moment of award.

Despite the non-mandatory character of this shareholding principle, the Company believes that the long-term view of shareholders is fairly represented at the Board considering that the Chairman is remunerated in Bekaert shares subject to a three-year lock-up; and that the non-executive Directors who are nominated by the reference shareholder already hold Bekaert shares (or certificates relating thereto).

The Code 2020 is available at www.corporategovernancecommittee.be/en/. The Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter is available at www.bekaert.com.

Board of Directors

The Company has adopted the one-tier governance structure. On 21 November 2024, the Board of Directors reviewed and confirmed that this structure remains appropriate for Bekaert.

The primary decision-making body is the Board of Directors. The Board is authorized to carry out all actions that are necessary or useful to achieve the Company's purpose, except for those for which the General Meeting of Shareholders is authorized by law or by the Articles of Association.

At the close of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on 8 May 2024, the term of office of the independent Director Mei Ye expired. Mei Ye did not seek reelection. Since then, the Board of Directors consists of nine members, who are appointed by the General Meeting of Shareholders. Five of the Directors are appointed from among candidates nominated by the principal shareholder.

All Directors are selected and nominated based upon a Board skills matrix. The purpose of the matrix is to ensure that the Board has meaningful diversity, skills, and experience to meet the current and future challenges of Bekaert, and to identify any gaps which potentially can be filled by future Directors. The skills matrix covers following areas: experience from other public companies, global CEO/C-suite experience, financial expertise, leadership/people expertise, information technology/digital expertise, sustainability/ESG expertise, M&A experience, manufacturing/industry experience.

A Board education program is available to the Directors, which focuses on Director effectiveness, sustainability/ ESG leadership, and cybersecurity oversight.

The Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer are never the same individual. The Chief Executive Officer is the only Board member with an executive function. All other members are non-executive Directors. Three of the Directors are independent in accordance with the criteria of Article 7:87, §1 of the BCCA and provision 3.5 of the Code 2020: Henriette Fenger Ellekrog (first appointed in 2020), Eriikka Söderström (first appointed in 2020), and Jürgen Tinggren (first appointed in 2019).

The Board of Directors met on nine occasions in 2024 (seven regular meetings and two extraordinary meetings). In addition to its statutory powers and powers under the Articles of Association and the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter, the Board of Directors discussed the following matters, among others, in 2024:

• the corporate strategy and strategic projects;
• the IT and digital strategy, including cybersecurity;
• the technology and innovation strategy;
• sustainability and ESG;
• governance, risk and compliance;
• the objectives of the principal shareholder of the Company;
• the budget for 2025;
• the succession planning at the Board and Executive Management levels;
• the remuneration and the short-term and long-term incentives for the Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the Executive Management;
• the share buyback program and the liquidity agreement;
• continuous monitoring of the debt and liquidity situation of the Group.

The oversight responsibility with respect to sustainability/ESG and cybersecurity has been integrated into the existing Board and Board Committees structure. The overall responsibility rests with the Board of Directors, supported by specific responsibilities assigned to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (process and controls; assurance; disclosures and reporting) and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (Board skills; talent and culture; accountability and link to executive pay). While the full Board of Directors retains oversight responsibility, the Board has appointed one lead Director for ESG matters and one lead Director for cybersecurity matters. These Directors provide support and act as a sounding board for executive management in preparation for Board meetings.

Name	First appointed	End of (current) Board term	Principal occupation²	Number of regular/ extraordinary meetings attended	Attendance rate
Chairman
Jürgen Tinggren¹	May 2019	May 2027	NV Bekaert SA	9/9	100%
Chief Executive Officer
Yves Kerstens	September 2023	May 2028	NV Bekaert SA	9/9	100%
Members nominated by the principal shareholder
Christophe Jacobs van Merlen	May 2016	May 2028	Partner, Bain Capital (UK)	9/9	100%
Maxime Parmentier	May 2022	May 2027	Chief Executive Officer, Birdie Care Services Ltd (UK)	9/9	100%
Caroline Storme	May 2019	May 2027	Finance Business Partner, UCB (Belgium)	8/9	89%
Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke	May 2016	May 2028	Head of Legal at Sofina (Belgium)	9/9	100%
Henri Jean Velge	May 2016	May 2028	Director of Companies	9/9	100%
Independent Directors
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog	May 2020	May 2025	Chief Human Resources Officer, Ørsted (Denmark)	9/9	100%
Eriikka Söderström	May 2020	May 2025	Independent Director of companies	9/9	100%
Mei Ye	May 2014	May 2024	Independent Director of and advisor to companies	4/4	100%

1 Jürgen Tinggren is an independent Director.

2 The detailed résumés of the Board members are available in Part I: Leadership of this report.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Since 1 January 2020, the Board of Directors has two advisory Committees.

Audit, Risk and Finance Committee

The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee is composed in accordance with Article 7:99 of the BCCA and provision 4.3 of the Code 2020. All its members are non-executive Directors and two of its members, Eriikka Söderström and Jürgen Tinggren, are independent. The Chairperson of the Committee, Eriikka Söderström, was appointed by the members of the Committee. Eriikka Söderström's competence in accounting and auditing is demonstrated by her former position as Chief Financial Officer of F-Secure Corporation, Kone Corporation, and Vacon Plc, all stock-listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. Additionally, she holds audit committee chair experience from mandates at Valmet, Kempower, and Comptel. The members of the Committee have a collective expertise relevant to the sector in which the Company is operating.

The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer are invited to attend the Committee meetings as a guest, without being a member. This arrangement guarantees the essential interaction between the Board of Directors and the Executive Management.

The Committee had four regular meetings in 2024. The Statutory Auditor attended all of them. In addition to its statutory powers and its powers under the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter, the Committee discussed the following main subjects:

• the financing structure of the Group;
• the debt and liquidity situation;
• the share buyback program and the liquidity agreement;
• the activity reports of the internal audit department;
• the reappointment of the Statutory Auditor;
• the reports of the Statutory Auditor;
• investor relations;
• • sustainability reporting and the related governance framework, data control framework and independent assurance;
• governance, risk and compliance and review of the major risks and the related mitigation plans under Bekaert's enterprise risk management program;
• internal control and risks.

Name	End of (current) Board term	Number of meetings attended	Attendance rate
Eriikka Söderström	2025	4/4	100%
Caroline Storme¹	2027	2/2	100%
Jürgen Tinggren	2027	4/4	100%
Henri Jean Velge	2028	4/4	100%

¹ As of 8 May 2024.

Nomination and Remuneration Committee

The Nomination and Remuneration Committee is composed as required by Article 7:100 of the BCCA and provision 4.3 of the Code 2020: all its three members are non-executive Directors, and the majority of the members is independent. It is chaired by the Chairman of the Board. The Committee's competence in the field of remuneration policy is demonstrated by the relevant experience of its members.

Name	Expiry of current Board term	Number of meetings attended	Attendance rate
Jürgen Tinggren	2027	6/6	100%
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog	2025	6/6	100%
Christophe Jacobs van Merlen	2028	6/6	100%

One of the Directors nominated by the principal shareholder, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Chief Human Resources Officer are invited to attend the Committee meetings as a guest, without being a member.

The Committee had five regular meetings and one extraordinary meeting in 2024. In addition to its statutory powers and its powers under the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter, the Committee discussed the following main subjects:

• leadership development and talent strategy;
• succession planning at Board and Executive Management levels;
• the remuneration report 2023;
• the remuneration policy;
• the remuneration for the Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the Executive Management; • the short-term and long-term incentive targets for the Group, the Chief Executive Officer and the other
• members of the Executive Management
• the Company's target operating model.

Evaluation

The main features of the process for evaluating the Board of Directors, its Committees and the individual Directors, are described in this section and in paragraph II.3.4 of the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter.

The Board of Directors, under the lead of the Chairman, assesses at least every three years its own performance and its interaction with the Executive Management, as well as its size, composition, functioning and that of its Committees. The evaluation is conducted using a formal process, which may be facilitated externally and follows a methodology approved by the Board.

Prior to the end of each Board member's term, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, under the lead of the Chairman, evaluates the Board member's presence at the Board or Board Committee meetings, and his or her commitment and constructive involvement in discussions and decision-making, in accordance with a preestablished and transparent procedure. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee also assesses whether the contribution of each Board member is adapted to changing circumstances.

The Board acts on the results of the performance evaluation. Where appropriate, this involves proposing new Board members for appointment, proposing not to re-appoint existing Board members or taking any measure deemed appropriate for the effective operation of the Board.

The Chairman always remains available to consider suggestions for improvement of the functioning of the Board or the Board Committees.

The non-executive Directors meet at least once per year in the absence of the Chief Executive Officer to assess their interaction with Executive Management.

In 2024, the Board of Directors and the Committees of the Board of Directors conducted a self-assessment, focusing on Board composition and structure, Board performance and responsibilities, Board effectiveness, progress on action points from the 2023 Board self-assessment, role and responsibilities of the Board Committees, and effectiveness of the Board Committees.

Executive Management

The Board of Directors has delegated special operational powers to the Bekaert Group Executive (the "BGE"), under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer. The BGE has sub-delegated certain of these operational powers to individuals within their functional or operational responsibility.

The BGE is composed of members who represent the global businesses and the global functions.

On 1 May 2024, Eric Peeters joined Bekaert as Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction. Sustainable Construction is a subdivision of the business unit Specialty Businesses.

On 1 November 2024, Seppo Parvi joined Bekaert as Chief Financial Officer following Taoufiq Boussaid's departure.

Name	Position	Appointed as BGE member
Yves Kerstens	Chief Executive Officer	2021
Gunter Van Craen	Chief Digital and Information Officer	2022
Seppo Parvi1	Chief Financial Officer	2024
Taoufiq Boussaid2	Chief Financial Officer	2019
Kerstin Artenberg	Chief Human Resources Officer	2021
Barry Snyder	Chief Operating Officer	2023
Juan Carlos Alonso3	Chief Strategy Officer	2019
Annie Xu-Huhmann	Divisional CEO Rubber Reinforcement	2023
Eric Peeters4	Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction	2024
François Desné	Divisional CEO Steel Wire Solutions and Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group	2022

¹ As of 1 November 2024

² Until 31 October 2024 ³ Until 31 March 2025

4 As of 1 May 2024

As a truly global company, Bekaert embraces diversity across all levels in the organization, which is considered a major source of strength. This applies to diversity in terms of nationality, cultural background, age, and gender, but also in terms of capabilities, business experience, insights, and views.

Nationality diversity

Bekaert employs people of 77 different nationalities in 40 countries around the world. This diversity is mirrored in all levels of the organization, as well as in the composition of the Board of Directors and the BGE.

31 December 2024	# people	# nationalities	# non-Belgian nationality	% non-Belgian nationality
Board of Directors	9	4	3	33 %
BGE	9	7	6	67 %

Gender diversity

The Company is compliant with the legal requirement that at least one third of the members of the Board of Directors are of the opposite gender.

Bekaert adopts a recruitment and promotion policy that aims to gradually generate more diversity, including gender diversity. The target in support of gender diversity is included in the ESG Statements in section S1-5 on page 231.

31 December 2024	# people	% male	% female
Board of Directors	9	56%	44%
BGE	9	78%	22%

Age diversity

31 December 2024	# people	30-50 years old	over 50 years old
Board of Directors	9	44%	56%
BGE	9	11%	89%

Conduct policies

Statutory conflicts of interest in the Board of Directors

In accordance with Article 7:96 of the BCCA, a member of the Board of Directors should give the other members prior notice of any agenda items in respect of which he/she has a direct or indirect conflict of interest of a financial nature with the Company and should refrain from participating in the discussion of and voting on those items. A conflict of interest arose on one occasion in 2024. The provisions of Article 7:96 of the BCCA were complied with.

On 29 February 2024, Yves Kerstens had a conflict of interest when the Board discussed and had to vote on his short-term variable remuneration on account of his 2023 performance as Divisional CEO Specialty Businesses and Chief Operating Officer (January-August 2023) and CEO (September-December 2023) (€ 431 549 in total).

Excerpt from the minutes:

RESOLUTION

Upon the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board approves the proposed overall short-term variable remuneration payable to Yves Kerstens on account of his 2023 performance, as Divisional CEO Specialty Businesses and COO (January-August 2023) and CEO (September-December 2023).

Other transactions with Directors and Executive Management

The Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter contains conduct guidelines with respect to direct and indirect conflicts of interest of the members of the Board of Directors and the BGE that fall outside the scope of Article 7:96 of the BCCA. Those members are deemed to be related parties to Bekaert and must report their direct or indirect transactions with Bekaert or its subsidiaries.

Bekaert is not aware of any potential conflict of interest concerning such transactions occurring in 2024 (cf. Note 7.5 to the consolidated financial statements).

Code of Conduct

The Board of Directors has approved the Bekaert Code of Conduct, which was first issued on 1 December 2004 and last updated in December 2023.

The Bekaert Code of Conduct describes how the Bekaert values are put into practice. It provides principles to follow when confronted with ethical choices and compliance matters.

Bekaert requires all employees, Executive Managers, and Directors to comply with the Code of Conduct. Bekaert's contractors, suppliers, and other business partners are expected to uphold the same standards.

The Bekaert Code of Conduct is included in its entirety in the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter as Appendix 3.

Market abuse

The Board of Directors has adopted the Bekaert Dealing Code on 28 July 2016, which became effective on 3 July 2016. The Bekaert Dealing Code is included in its entirety in the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter as Appendix 4.

The Bekaert Dealing Code restricts transactions in Bekaert financial instruments by members of the Board of Directors, the BGE, senior management and certain other persons during closed and prohibited periods. The Code also contains rules concerning the disclosure of executed transactions by leading managers and their closely associated persons through a notification to the Company and to the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). The Company Secretary is the Dealing Code Officer for purposes of the Bekaert Dealing Code.

Remuneration report

Description of the procedure used in 2024 for (i) developing a remuneration policy for the nonexecutive Directors and Executive Management and (ii) setting the remuneration of the individual Directors and Executive Managers

In accordance with article 7:89/1 of the Belgian Code on Companies and Associations, the remuneration policy for the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management (members of the Bekaert Group Executive, "BGE") was submitted to the vote of its shareholders at the General Meeting of Shareholders on 12 May 2021.

The remuneration policy is applicable as of 1 January 2021 and will be submitted to vote by the General Meeting of Shareholders at every material change and in any case at least every 4 years.

In accordance with the remuneration policy, the 2024 remuneration for the non-executive Directors (other than the Chairman) has been determined by the General Meeting of Shareholders on 8 May 2024, acting upon the motion of the Board of Directors. The remuneration of the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the performance of all his duties in the Company for the period June 2023 - May 2027 has been determined by the General Meeting of Shareholders on 10 May 2023 and is a fixed amount of € 650 000 per year (for the period June - May).

In accordance with the remuneration policy, the remuneration for the Chief Executive Officer has been determined by the Board of Directors, acting upon proposals from the Nomination and Remuneration Committee ("NRC"). The Chief Executive Officer is absent from this process and does not take part in the voting nor the deliberations in this regard. The NRC ensures that the Chief Executive Officer's contract with the Company reflects the remuneration policy. A copy of the Chief Executive Officer's contract is available to any Director upon request to the Chairman.

In accordance with the remuneration policy, the remuneration for the members of the BGE other than the Chief Executive Officer has been determined by the Board of Directors acting upon proposals from the NRC. The Chief Executive Officer has an advisory role in this process. The NRC ensures that the contract of each BGE member with the Company reflects the remuneration policy. A copy of each such contract is available to any Director upon request to the Chairman.

Statement of the remuneration policy used in 2024 for the Board of Directors and members of the BGE

Board of Directors

Purpose and link to strategy

Remuneration is set at a level that is sufficient to attract non-executive Directors with competences required to match the Company's international ambition. They are set to reward non-executive Directors for their role as Board member and specific role as Chairman of the Board, or Chair or member of the Board Committees, as well as their resulting responsibilities and commitments in time.

Operation

Chairman of the Board of Directors

• The remuneration of the Chairman is determined at the beginning of his term of office and is in principle set for the duration of such term.
• The remuneration of the Chairman is determined by the General Meeting of Shareholders on the motion of the Board of Directors, acting upon proposals from the NRC.
• Fees can be paid partly in cash and partly in Company shares, subject to a three-year holding period from grant date.

Other non-executive Directors

• The remuneration of the other non-executive Directors is determined by the General Meeting of Shareholders on the motion of the Board of Directors, acting upon proposals from the NRC, for the running financial year.
• Fees are paid in cash, but with the option each year to receive part (0%, 25% or 50%) in Company shares.

The remuneration of the Chairman and of the other non-executive Directors is regularly benchmarked with a selected panel of relevant publicly traded industrial Belgian and international companies of similar size and complexity.

Executive Director

Without prejudice to his remuneration in his capacity as Executive Manager, the Chief Executive Officer is not entitled to receive remuneration for his mandate as executive Director.

Fee structure

A modular fee structure is applied for non-executive Directors to ensure that the remuneration fairly reflects their role as Board member and specific role as Chairman of the Board of Directors, or Chair or member of the Board Committees, as well as their resulting responsibilities and commitment in time.

The remuneration of the Chairman of the Board of Directors is set as follows:

• a fixed amount of € 650 000 gross per year converted into a number of Company shares.

The remuneration of each non-executive Director, except the Chairman, is set as follows:

• a fixed amount of € 80 000 gross for the performance of the duties as a member of the Board, which amount was increased during the financial year 2024, from € 70 000 gross to the current € 80 000;
• a fixed amount of € 20 000 gross for the performance of the duties as member or Chair of a Board Committee, and an additional fixed amount of € 5 000 gross for the Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.
• The fixed amounts for Board Committee membership or Board Committee chairing are paid on top of the fixed amount for performance of duties as a member of the Board.

Performance measures

The Chairman and the other non-executive Directors do not receive any performance-related remuneration that is directly related to the results of the Company. They are not entitled to participate in any of the Company's incentive plans and do not receive stock options or pension benefits.

Shareholding

Contrary to provision 7.6 of the Code 2020 according to which non-executive Directors should receive part of their remuneration in the form of shares in the Company and these shares should be held until at least one year after the non-executive Director leaves the Board and at least three years after the moment of award, nonexecutive Directors are recommended (but not required)

• to build up a personal shareholding of one annual fixed Board fee during the period of their tenure; and
• to maintain this until at least one year after the non-executive Director leaves the Board and at least three years after the moment of award.

Despite the non-mandatory character of this shareholding principle, the Company believes that the long-term view of shareholders is fairly represented at the Board considering that the Chairman is remunerated in Bekaert shares subject to a three-year lock-up; and that the non-executive Directors who are nominated by the reference shareholder already hold Bekaert shares (or certificates relating thereto). In addition, the non executive Directors have the possibility to receive part of their fees in Company shares.

During the financial year 2024, all non-executive Directors have opted to receive a part of their fixed fee in shares.

Other items

Expenses that are reasonably incurred in the performance of their duties are reimbursed to Directors, upon submission of suitable justification. In making such expenses, the Directors should take into account the Board Member Expense Policy.

Members of the BGE

Purpose and link to strategy

The Company offers competitive total remuneration packages with the objective to attract and retain the best executive and management talent in every part of the world in which the Group is operating. Remuneration is set to reward Executive Managers for performance that creates positive short-term and long-term business results and value creation for the Company.

Executive remuneration consists out of fixed pay, benefits and allowance, short-term incentives and long-term incentives. In addition, Executive Managers are required to build and retain a minimum personal holding in Company shares.

• Fixed pay is the fixed remuneration paid to an Executive Manager for responsibilities of the job. The Company aims to ensure fixed pay is competitive compared with median market practice. The Executive Manager's potential for further growth, as well as sustained past performance, drive how fixed pay evolves over time.
• Short-term incentives aim to motivate Executive Managers to support and drive the Company's short-term goals considering a one-year performance horizon. Company overall performance, business unit performance (for Divisional CEOs) and individual performance drive the ultimate outcome.
• Long-term incentives reward Executive Managers for contributing to the achievement of the Company's longterm strategy considering a three-year performance horizon. Performance metrics are objective metrics aligned with the Company strategy.
• Benefits and allowances are aligned with local practice and local policies; they are designed to be competitive and cost effective. This includes pension benefits aiming to support Executive Managers in their retirement planning.
• A minimum personal shareholding requirement aims to align the interest of the Executive Managers with those of the long-term shareholders by creating a link between their personal wealth and the Company's long-term performance. This is facilitated by a voluntary share-matching program.

The remuneration of the Executive Management is benchmarked bi-annually with a selected panel of relevant publicly traded industrial European companies.

Executive remuneration is aligned with the remuneration policy of the Group.

Operation

The remuneration of both the Chief Executive Officer (in his capacity as Executive Manager) and the other BGE members is determined by the Board of Directors acting on a reasoned recommendation from the NRC.

Fixed pay

• Fixed pay is set by the Board on the recommendation of the NRC with reference to a selected peer group.
• Annual increases are decided by the Board on the recommendation of the NRC and are generally aligned with the average salary increases applying to the broader employee population unless there were significant changes to an individual's role and/or responsibilities during the year.

Short-term incentives (STI)

• STI for Executive Managers are fully aligned with the Bekaert Variable Pay Plan for all managers worldwide.
• STI is earned by reference to performance from 1 January to 31 December and is paid after the year-end of the financial year to which it relates.
• Objectives are set by the Board of Directors at the beginning of the year upon the recommendation of the NRC. Those objectives include Group, business unit (for Divisional CEOs) and individual targets, both financial and non-financial, which are relevant in evaluating the annual performance of the Group and progress achieved against the agreed strategic objectives. They are evaluated annually by the Board of Directors, upon recommendation of the NRC.

Long-term incentives (LTI)

• Executive Managers participate in the Bekaert Performance Share Plan for all senior managers worldwide.
• Performance share units are granted each year and represent a conditional Company share that vest after three years upon achievement of pre-set performance conditions.
• At the beginning of each three-year performance period, the NRC recommends a set of performance criteria based on objective metrics derived from the long-term business plan. Those three-year performance criteria are documented and submitted by the NRC to the full Board of Directors for approval.
• The precise vesting level of the performance share units will depend upon the actual achievement level of the vesting criterion, with no vesting at all if the actual performance is below the defined minimum threshold. Upon achievement of said threshold, there will be a minimum vesting of 50% of the granted performance share units; full achievement of the agreed vesting criterion will lead to a par vesting of 100% of the granted performance share units, whereas there will be a maximum vesting of 300% of the granted performance share units in case of exceptional performance.
• Vested performance share units are delivered in the financial year following the performance period. In Europe, this is delivered in Company shares whereas in the rest of the world this is paid in cash.
• Upon vesting, the beneficiaries will also receive the value of the dividends relating to the previous three years with respect to such (amount of) performance shares to which the effectively vested performance share units relate.

Short-term incentives (STI)

Company performance driving STI in 2024 is based on the below metrics:

Business Objective Bekaert Group	Weight	Threshold	Target	Maximum	Actual Performance
Gross Profit	20 %	17.0 %	18.0 %	19.0 %	17.3%
Underlying EBITDA	50 %	€ 517 mln	€ 574 mln	€ 631 mln	€ 520 mln
Working Capital as % of Sales	20 %	16.3 %	15.3 %	14.3 %	17.3%
Gender Diversity	10 %	28.4 %	28.7 %	29.0 %	29.0%
Overall assessment					59.1 %

The Board, acting upon recommendation of the NRC, assessed the overall company performance at 59.1%.

For 2025 the following metrics will apply: gross profit, underlying EBITDA, working capital and customer net promoter score. This is combined with specific business unit and individualized objectives. Given the commercial sensitivity of our short-term goals, the performance goals will be disclosed in the 2025 remuneration report.

Long-term incentives (LTI)

The vesting criteria and outcome with regard to the performance share units issued in 2022 in relation to the 2022-2024 performance horizon for members of the BGE were as follows:

Business Objective Bekaert Group	Weight	Threshold	Target	Maximum	Actual Performance	Vesting
Underlying EBITDA as % of sales	25 %	12.5%	14.0%	15.5%	13.1 %	70 %
Cumulative operational Cash Flow	25 %	€ 1,030 mln	€ 1,180 mln	€ 1,380 mln	€ 962 mln	— %
TSR relative to peer index (*)	50 %	≥25th pct	≥50th pct	≥75th pct	-1.38% vs median	91 %
Overall assessment						63 %

(*) The starting price of the peer index is based on the 30-trading-day average preceding the start of the performance cycle, and the ending price is based on the 30-trading-day average preceding the end of the performance cycle.

Aligned with the grant for the performance period 2024-2026, for the performance period 2025-2027, specific company financials have been selected, more in particular Underlying EBITDA as percentage of Sales, Cumulative operational Cash Flow and Total Shareholder Return (TSR) related to peer index. In addition, an ESG basket applies (CO2e reduction and a safety target). Given the commercial sensitivity of our long-term goals, the 2025-2027 performance goals will be disclosed at the conclusion of the three-year performance period.

Opportunity

• The target value of the STI of the Chief Executive Officer is 75% of fixed pay, and 60% of fixed pay for the other members of the BGE. The maximum opportunity is 200% of this target.
• The target value of the LTI of the Chief Executive Officer is 85% of fixed pay, and 65% of fixed pay for the other members of the BGE. The maximum vesting is 300% of the target.

At par level, the value of the variable remuneration elements of the Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the BGE exceeds 25% of their total remuneration. More than half of this variable remuneration is based on criteria over a period of three years.

Minimum shareholding requirement

The Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the BGE are required to build a personal shareholding in Company shares within five years from the time of appointment, and to maintain this level for the full period of appointment.

To facilitate this, the Company offers a voluntary share-matching plan. The Company matches a personal investment in Company shares each year (up to a maximum 15% of actual gross STI) with a direct grant of Company shares in the third calendar year following this investment, provided the Executive Manager holds on the personal shares.

In case the BGE member leaves the Company before the end of the holding period, the Company will match 1/3rd per started calendar year. No matching occurs in case of resignation or termination for cause.

The retention period for matching shares expires three years after granting these shares in so far the minimum shareholding requirement has been met.

Remuneration of the non-executive Directors in respect of 2024

The amount of the remuneration granted directly or indirectly to the non-executive Directors, by the Company or its subsidiaries, in respect of 2024 is set forth on an individual basis below. The non-executive Directors only receive fixed remuneration, partially paid out in cash and partially in shares (cfr. section 4).

in €	Period covering fixed amount	Fixed amount for performance of duties as a member of the Board	Fixed amount for Board Committee membership and/or chairing	Total
Jürgen Tinggren1, 5	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	650 000	n.a.	650 000
Mei Ye6	01.01.2024 - 08.05.2024	40 000		40 000
Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000		80 000
Christophe Jacobs van Merlen4	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000	20 000	100 000
Henri Jean Velge2	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000	20 000	100 000
Caroline Storme2	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000	10 000	90 000
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog4	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000	20 000	100 000
Eriikka Söderström2, 3	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000	25 000	105 000
Maxime Parmentier	01.01.2024 - 31.12.2024	80 000		80 000
Total Directors' Remuneration				1 345 000

¹ Chairman, Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

² Member of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. Caroline Storme is member since 8 May 2024.

³ Chair of the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

⁴ Member of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

5 Share grant of € 650 000 on 31 May 2024 relating to the period June 2024 - May 2025.

6 Term of office expired on 8 May 2024.

Share-based remuneration for non-executive Directors

The fixed fee of the Chairman is paid 100% in Company shares, subject to a three-year holding period from grant date.

For the other non-executive Directors, the fixed fee for performance of duties as a member of the Board are paid in cash, but with the option each year to receive part of the fixed fee for duties as a member of the Board (0%, 25% or 50%) in Company shares. Fixed fees for performance of duties as member or Chair of a Board Committee are paid in cash.

Set out below are the number of Company shares granted to non-executive Directors in 2024. For the avoidance of doubt, the below amounts are included in the remuneration overview of the non-executive Directors in section 3.

			Number of
	Percentage	Gross amount	shares after	End retention
Non-executive director	shares	in €	taxes	period
Chairman
Jürgen Tinggren¹	100%	650 000	7 211	31/5/2027
Non-executive Directors nominated by the principal shareholder
Christophe Jacobs van Merlen	50%	40 000	459	n.a.
Maxime Parmentier	50%	40 000	418	n.a.
Caroline Storme	50%	40 000	459	n.a.
Emilie van de Walle de Ghelcke	50%	40 000	459	n.a.
Henri Jean Velge	50%	40 000	459	n.a.
Independent non-executive Directors
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog	50%	40 000	464	n.a.
Eriikka Söderström	25%	20 000	251	n.a.
Mei Ye	25%	20 000	143	n.a.
Total		930 000	10 323

¹ The share grant of € 650 000 covers the period June 2024 - May 2025.

Current shareholdings of Directors

As per 31 December 2024, the Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert and parties acting in concert owned 36% of the shares of Bekaert. Five members of the Board of Directors are appointed from among candidates nominated by the Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert. The independent non-executive Directors held the following number of Bekaert shares:

Director	Number of Bekaert shares
Jürgen Tinggren	69 275
Henriette Fenger Ellekrog	3 299
Eriikka Söderström	4 220

Remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer in respect of 2024 in his capacity as executive Director

Without prejudice to the remuneration in the capacity as Executive Manager, the Chief Executive Officer did not receive remuneration for the mandate as executive Director.

Remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer in respect of 2024

The amount of the remuneration and other benefits granted directly or indirectly to the Chief Executive Officer, by the Company or its subsidiaries, in respect of 2024 for his role as Chief Executive Officer is set forth below:

	Chief Executive Officer Comments
	Yves Kerstens
Period	01.01.2024-31.12.2024
Fixed pay	870 000	Includes base remuneration and foreign director fees
STI	347 065	Annual variable remuneration, based on 2024 CEO performance
LTI	202 359	Value of vested performance share units (performance period 2022-2024)
Pension	217 500	Cash balance pension plan
Share-matching	58 822	2024 Company matching of 2022 personal investment in Company shares
Other remuneration elements	32 880	Includes company car and risk insurances
Total remuneration	1 728 626
Variable remuneration expressed as % of total		35 % Sum of STI, LTI and Share-Matching
Fixed remuneration expressed as % of total		65 % Sum of Fixed Pay, Pension and Other

The evaluation of STI performance criteria over 2024 leads to a payout of 53.19% versus target for the CEO.

There has been an LTI vesting at 63% versus target for the performance share units issued on 4 March 2022 covering performance period 2022-2024.

The Remuneration Policy stipulates that the target LTI is 85% of fixed pay for the CEO. In March 2024, performance share units have been granted with respect to performance period 2024-2026 considering a 85% LTI target.

There has been a Company matching in 2024 of the personal investment of shares done in 2022 in accordance with the Personal Shareholding Requirement Plan.

Remuneration of the other members of the BGE in respect of 2024

The amount of the remuneration and other benefits granted directly or indirectly to the BGE members other than the Chief Executive Officer, by the Company or its subsidiaries, in respect of 2024 is set forth below on a global basis. The remuneration includes pro rata remuneration of Eric Peeters (as of 1 May 2024), Seppo Parvi (as of 1 November 2024) and of Taoufiq Boussaid, who left on 31 October 2024.

	Remuneration Comments
Fixed pay	3 408 649	Includes base remuneration as well as foreign director fees
STI	1 193 022	Annual variable remuneration, based on 2024 performance
LTI	946 092	Value of vested performance share units (performance period 2022-2024)
Pension	715 104	Employer contribution into pension plan
Share-matching	211 863	2024 Company matching of 2022 personal investment in Company shares
Other remuneration elements	530 200	Includes company car, risk insurances and school fees
Total remuneration	7 004 930
Variable remuneration expressed as % of total		34 % Sum of STI, LTI and Share-Matching
Fixed remuneration expressed as % of total		66 % Sum of Fixed Pay, Pension and Other

The evaluation of STI performance criteria over 2024 leads to a payout of 64.2% (weighted average) versus target. The STI for Eric Peeters and Seppo Parvi was pro-rated in accordance with their start date. For Taoufiq Boussaid no STI has been paid for 2024 following his departure.

For the qualifying BGE members, there has been an LTI vesting at 63% versus target for the performance share units issued on 4 March 2022 covering performance period 2022-2024 (we refer to section 8).

The pension expense captures a combination of two pension arrangements in place in the different work locations of the BGE members; being Belgium and France. The amount mentioned in the above table represents the accrued pay credit for the relevant cash balance plan and the employer contribution into the mandatory second pillar arrangement.

Share-based remuneration for members of the BGE

As of 2018, the long-term incentives are delivered solely through performance share units granted under the 2018- 2020 Performance Share Plan proposed by the Board of Directors and approved by the Annual General Meeting on 9 May 2018.

On the recommendation of the Board of Directors, the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders has approved on 12 May 2021 the remuneration policy. Based on this policy, a Performance Share Plan was issued under which performance share grants have and will occur as of 2022 up to and including 2025.

Up to 2017 long-term incentives have been based on a combination of stock options (or, outside of Europe, stock appreciations rights) and performance share units.

There are no outstanding stock options nor stock appreciation rights (or movements done in 2024) in relation to BGE members.

The Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the BGE participate in a voluntary share-matching plan.

Performance Share Units

Performance share units related to the performance period 2024-2026 have been granted to the Executive Management on 8 March 2024. Following the start of Eric Peeters on 1 May 2024, performance share units have been granted on 14 May 2024 and 20 August 2024. Following the start of Seppo Parvi on 1 November 2024, performance share units have been granted on 25 November 2024.

Company financials retained as performance targets covering the 2024-2026 performance period are EBITDA Underlying growth, elements of cumulative cash flow and TSR relative to peer index. The peer group is a selection of 19 listed industrial companies, European based with global reach, similar in size, employees and market cap. In addition, an ESG metric has been added, including CO2e reduction, sustainable solutions and safety.

The tables below set forth the overview of share-based remuneration granted to BGE members, including the main characteristics of each plan.

Plan name	Performance period	Performance measures	Grant Date	Vesting Date	Number of PSU granted	Number of unvested PSU start of year	Granted	Forfeited/ Expired	Vested	Number of unvested PSU end of year
Taoufiq Boussaid - former Chief Financial Officer
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U & Cum. CF & TSR	04/03/2022	31/12/2024	6 949	6 949			4 378
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	7 944	7 944		2 648		5 296
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	6 616		6 616	4 411		2 205
					TOTAL	14 893	6 616	7 059	4 378	7 501
Kerstin Artenberg - Chief Human Resources Officer
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U & Cum. CF & TSR	04/03/2022	31/12/2024	6 314	6 314			3 978
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	7 296	7 296				7 296
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	6 037		6 037			6 037
					TOTAL	13 610	6 037	0	3 978	13 333
Juan Carlos Alonso - Chief Strategy Officer
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U & Cum. CF & TSR	04/03/2022	31/12/2024	5 956	5 956			3 752
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	6 887	6 887				6 887
					TOTAL	12 843	0	0	3 752	6 887
Yves Kerstens - Chief Executive Officer
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U & Cum. CF & TSR	04/03/2022	31/12/2024	7 783	7 783			4 903
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	8 988	8 988				8 988
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	16 555		16 555			16 555
					TOTAL	16 771	16 555	0	4 903	25 543
Eric Peeters - Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	14/05//2024	31/12/2026	6 092		6 092			6 092
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	20/08//2024	31/12/2026	5 645		5 645			5 645
					TOTAL	0	11 737	0	0	11 737
François Desné - Div. CEO SWS and BBRG
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF & TSR	26/09/2022	31/12/2024	12 864	12 864			8 104
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	7 967	7 967				7 967

Plan name	Performance period	Performance measures	Grant Date	Vesting Date	Number of PSU granted	Number of unvested PSU start of year	Granted	Forfeited/ Expired	Vested	Number of unvested PSU end of year
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	7 276		7 276			7 276
					TOTAL	20 831	7 276	0	8 104	15 243
Gunter Van Craen - Chief Digital and Information Officer
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF & TSR	04/03/2022	31/12/2024	2379	2 379			1 499
PSP 2022-2024	2022-2024	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF & TSR	25/08/2022	31/12/2024	1926	1 926			1 213
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	6115	6 115				6 115
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	5066		5 066			5 066
					TOTAL	10 420	5 066	0	2 712	11 181
Annie Xu-Huhmann - Div. CEO RR
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	10/03/2023	31/12/2025	9264	9 264				9264
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	7663		7663			7663
					TOTAL	9 264	7 663	0	0	16 927
Barry Snyder - Chief Operating Officer
PSP 2023-2025	2023-2025	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	22/08/2023	31/12/2025	3495	3 495				3495
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	8/03/2024	31/12/2026	6548		6548			6548
					TOTAL	3 495	6 548	0	0	10 043
Seppo Parvi - Chief Financial Officer
PSP 2024-2026	2024-2026	EBITDA-U, Cum. CF, TSR & ESG	25/11/2024	31/12/2026	9826		9826			9826
					TOTAL		9 826	0	0	9 826

Share-matching Plan

The table below sets forth the number of shares matched by the Company for BGE members. There has been a Company Share Matching in 2024 relating to the personal investment in shares on 31 March 2022 following the three-year retention period.

			Number of
	Date personal investment	End holding period	acquired shares	Acquired in 2024	Matched in 2024	Forfeited for matching
Taoufiq Boussaid - former Chief Financial Officer
	31/3/2022	31/12/2024	2 054		2 054
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	611		408	203
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		840	280	560
Kerstin Artenberg - Chief Human Resources Officer
	31/3/2022	31/12/2024	1 711		1 711
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	561
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		809
Juan Carlos Alonso - Chief Strategy Officer
	31/3/2022	31/12/2024	1 760		1 760
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	529
Yves Kerstens - Chief Executive Officer
	31/3/2022	31/12/2024	1 725		1 725
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	1 476
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		1 349
François Desné - Div. CEO SWS and BBRG
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	154
Gunter Van Craen - Chief Digital & Information Officer
	31/3/2023	31/12/2025	343
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		608
Annie Xu-Huhmann - Div. CEO RR
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		952
Barry Snyder - Chief Operating Officer
	31/3/2024	31/12/2026		400

Departure of Executive Managers

Taoufiq Boussaid has been a BGE member until 31 October 2024 and left Bekaert afterwards. In accordance with the contractual agreement, a departure package based on twelve months of remuneration has been paid.

Company's right of reclaim

The Board of Directors has the discretion to adjust (malus) or reclaim (claw back) some or all of the value of awards of performance related payments to the Executive Management in the event of

• significant downward restatement of the financial results of Bekaert,
• material breach of the Bekaert Code of Conduct or any other Bekaert compliance policies,
• breach of restrictive covenants by which the individual has agreed to be bound,
• fraud, gross misconduct or gross negligence by the individual, which results into significant losses or serious reputation damage to Bekaert.

The Board did not make use of this right in 2024.

Executive remuneration in a wider context

The main difference in remuneration policy between the Executive Management and employees in general, is the balance between fixed and performance-related remuneration such as short-term and long-term incentives. Overall, the percentage of performance related remuneration, in particular longer-term incentives, is greater for the Executive Management. This reflects that Executive Managers have greater freedom to act and that the consequences of their decisions are likely to have a broader and more far-reaching time span of effect.

The remuneration for Executive Managers is however aligned with the remuneration structures of the broader group of employees:

• The Group's managers share the same scorecard as the Executive Management for measuring the Group and business unit performance with an impact on their STI.
• In addition, around 100 of the Group's senior managers receive performance share awards on terms that are similar to the conditions that apply to the members of the BGE.

The ratio of the Chief Executive Officer to the lowest remuneration of the employees of NV Bekaert SA in Belgium is 34:1.

The table below sets forth the average remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management, the average remuneration of other employees (on a full-time equivalent basis) and some key financial Company metrics over the last 5 calendar years.

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Company remuneration
Non-executive Directors
Average remuneration (€)	104 000	111 458	132 273	140 609	158 235
Year-on-year difference (%)	-14.5 %	+7.2%	+18.7 %	+6.3%	+12.5%
CEO1
Average remuneration (€)	1 225 527	2 356 337	2 911 964	5 903 833	1 728 626
Year-on-year difference (%)	-31.4 %	+92.3%	+23.6%	+102.7%	-70.7 %
Other BGE members
Average remuneration (€)	839 736	1 611 657	1 288 128	1 692 404	913 687
Year-on-year difference (%)	+12.3%	+91.9%	-20.1 %	+31.4%	-46.0 %
Other employees
Average remuneration (€)	79 859	87 727	88 402	98 471	103 638
Year-on-year difference (%)	+2.7%	+9.9%	+0.8%	+11.4%	+5.2%

1 CEO remuneration in 2023 includes € 4.4 million related to the former CEO Oswald Schmid and € 1.5 million related to current CEO Yves Kerstens

2 The 2022 and 2023 data have been restated due to the divestment of the Steel Wire Solutions business activities in Chile and Peru

	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Key Company metrics
EBITDA-underlying2
Amount in million (€)	479	686	591	561	520
Year-on-year difference (%)	+2.4%	+43.2%	-13.8%	-5.1%	-7.3 %
Sales2
Amount in million (€)	3 772	4 840	5 004	4 328	3 958
Year-on-year difference (%)	-12.7%	+28.3%	+3.4%	-13.5%	-8.6 %
Working Capital2
Amount in million (€)	535	678	676	641	653
Year-on-year difference (%)	-23.5%	+26.6%	-0.3%	-5.2%	+1.9 %
Company share price (as at 31 December)
Share price (€)	27.16	39.14	36.28	46.52	33.46

2 The 2022 and 2023 data have been restated due to the divestment of the Steel Wire Solutions business activities in Chile and Peru

The total remuneration of the non-executive Directors is described in detail in section 3 of this remuneration report. It is set as a fixed amount for the performance of the duties for the Chairman and for a member of the board, and as a fixed amount for the performance of the duties as a member or Chair of a Board Committee.

The remuneration of the CEO and other BGE members include the compensation elements of the remuneration tables in section 6 and 7 of this remuneration report. The variations from year to year are mainly influenced by the annual variable remuneration as well as by the vesting performance share units which are linked to company performance and share price of a vested performance share unit.

The average remuneration of the other employees of the Company is based on the average gross annual income of all employees of NV Bekaert SA in Belgium, excluding BGE members and senior management. This gross annual income includes the base salary, variable pay, benefits and performance share units for the qualifying managers. Changes from one year to another are explained by employee population composition and is influenced by annual variable remuneration as well by the vesting performance share units which are linked to company performance and share price of a vested performance share unit.

Derogations from the procedures for implementing the remuneration policy

Upon recruitment of Eric Peeters, Divisional CEO Sustainable Construction (Sustainable Construction is a subdivision of the business unit Specialty Businesses), and of Seppo Parvi, Chief Financial Officer, a sign-on award was granted in order to compensate for the loss of long-term incentives at their previous employers.

In order to compensate in a similar way, the loss of long-term incentives has been compensated with an award in a form of performance share units. Accordingly, 6 092 performance share units were granted to Eric Peeters and 9 826 performance share units were granted to Seppo Parvi.

These awards are subject to forfeiture in the case of resignation or in the case of termination for cause.

Shares

The Bekaert share in 2024

The Bekaert share underperformed the reference index, Euronext Brussels BEL Mid, by -12.5% in 2024 and lost -28.1% comparing to the year-end closing price of 2023.

Share identification

The Bekaert share is listed on Euronext Brussels as ISIN BE0974258874 (BEKB) and was first listed in December 1972. The ICB sector code is 2727 Diversified Industrials.

	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Price as at 31 December (in €)	28.38	38.48	36.45	21.06	26.50	27.16	39.14	36.28	46.52	33.46
Price high (in €)	30.00	42.45	49.92	40.90	28.26	28.50	42.56	45.60	46.72	50.35
Price low (in €)	22.58	26.56	33.50	17.41	19.38	13.61	27.34	24.84	36.32	31.40
Price average closing (in €)	26.12	37.06	42.05	28.21	23.96	19.95	36.33	34.02	41.56	40.30
Daily volume	120 991	123 268	121 686	154 726	96 683	72 995	68 749	69 296	49 812	38 331
Daily turnover (in millions of €)	3.1	4.5	5.0	4.4	2.3	1.5	2.5	2.4	2.1	1.5
Annual turnover (in millions of €)	804	1 147	1 279	1 121	592	386	641	615	528	392
Velocity (% annual)	52	53	51	65	41	31	29	30	22	18
Velocity (% adjusted free float)	86	88	86	109	68	52	49	50	34	28
Free float (%)	56.7	59.2	59.6	59.3	59.3	59.5	58.7	55.6	60.3	60.1

Share performance

Share trading

The average daily trading volume was 38 331 shares in 2024. The volume peaked on 1 March, when 199 531 shares were traded.

On 31 December 2024, Bekaert had a market capitalization of € 1.8 billion and a free float market capitalization of € 1.1 billion. The free float was 60.1% and the free float band 65%.

Shareholding and notifications

In connection with the entry into force of the Act of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of significant participations (the Transparency Act) Bekaert has, in its Articles of Association, set the thresholds of 3% and 7.50% in addition to the legal thresholds of 5% and each multiple of 5%. An overview of the notifications of participations of 3% or more, if any, can be found in the Parent Company Information section of this Annual Report (Interests in share capital).

On 8 December 2007, Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert disclosed in accordance with Article 74 of the Act of 1 April 2007 on public takeover bids that it was holding individually more than 30% of the securities with voting rights of the Company on 1 September 2007.

Based on recent shareholder identification analysis, transparency notifications and treasury share movements, as per 31 December 2024, the Stichting Administratiekantoor Bekaert and parties acting in concert owned 36% of the shares of Bekaert and treasury shares represented 4%. The remaining free float of approximately 60% was held by a combination of institutional investors and private investors.

Capital structure

Per 31 December 2024, the capital of the Company amounted to € 159 782 000 and is represented by 54 286 986 shares without par value. The shares are in registered or non-material form. All shares have the same rights.

Authorized capital

The Board of Directors has been authorized by the General Meeting of Shareholders of 25 February 2025 to increase the capital, in one or more times, including by issuing convertible debentures or subscription rights, with a maximum amount (exclusive of the issue premium) of (i) € 79 891 000 for capital increases with (statutory or non-statutory) preferential subscription rights for the shareholders, and (ii) € 15 978 200 for any other capital increases. The authority is valid for five years beginning from the publication of this authorization.

Treasury shares, stock option plans, performance share plan and share-matching plan

On 31 December 2023, the Company held 2 156 137 own shares. Between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, a total of 23 309 treasury shares were transferred to (former) employees following the exercise of stock options under SOP 2010-2014 and SOP 2015-2017. Bekaert sold 4 558 shares to members of the BGE in the framework of the Bekaert personal shareholding requirement and transferred 11 482 shares to members of the BGE under the share-matching plan. A total of 10 323 shares were granted to the Chairman and other nonexecutive Directors as part of their remuneration for the performance of their duties. A total of 220 965 shares were disposed of following the vesting of 220 965 performance share units under the performance share plan. Between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, Bekaert bought back 772 370 shares in total and cancelled 463 188 shares (see below). Including the transactions exercised under the liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux which started on 1 July 2024, the balance of own shares held by the Company on 31 December 2024 was 2 235 087 (4.12% of the total share capital).

A grant of 107 976 equity settled performance share units was made on 8 March 2024. In addition, grants of 23 632 equity settled performance share units in aggregate were made on 14 May 2024, 20 August 2024 and 25 November 2024 to starting or promoted executives. Each performance share unit entitles the beneficiary to acquire one performance share subject to the conditions of the underlying Performance Share Plan.

These performance share units will vest following a vesting period of three years, conditional to the achievement of preset performance targets. The precise vesting level of the performance share units depends on the actual achievement level of the vesting criterion, with no vesting at all if the actual performance is below the defined minimum threshold. Upon achievement of said threshold, there will be a minimum vesting of 50% of the granted performance share units; full achievement of the agreed vesting criterion will lead to a par vesting of 100% of the granted performance share units, whereas there will be a maximum vesting of 300% of the granted performance share units in case of exceptional performance.

Detailed information about capital, shares, stock option plans and performance share plans is given in the Financial Statements (Note 6.13 to the consolidated financial statements).

Share buyback programs and liquidity agreement

On 23 February 2024, Bekaert completed the share buyback program that was launched on 18 March 2022. Between 1 January 2024 and 23 February 2024, Bekaert bought back 383 188 shares. The balance of the shares repurchased under this program, totaling 463 188 shares, were cancelled on 6 June 2024, leading to a capital decrease of € 1 363 162. After this capital decrease, the capital was rounded up through a small capital increase of € 162 without issuing new shares, within the framework of the authorized capital.

On 25 June 2024, Bekaert entered into a new liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux. This liquidity agreement provides for the purchase and sale of Bekaert shares by Kepler Cheuvreux on the regulated market of Euronext Brussels, with the purpose of supporting the liquidity of Bekaert shares. The liquidity agreement started on 1 July 2024 for a 12-month renewable period. To execute the liquidity agreement, Bekaert provided € 3.5 million to Kepler Cheuvreux.

On 22 November 2024, Bekaert announced that its Board of Directors had approved a new share buyback program for a total amount of up to € 200 million over a period of up to 24 months, under the authorization granted by Bekaert's Extraordinary General Meeting of 8 May 2024. The purpose of the program is to cancel all shares repurchased. The first tranche of the new program started on 22 November 2024 and ended on 21 February 2025. During the first tranche, Bekaert purchased 750 093 shares for an aggregate amount of € 25 million. The second tranche began on 28 February 2025.

Dividend distribution

The Board of Directors will propose that the Annual General Meeting to be held on 14 May 2025 approve the distribution of a gross dividend of € 1.90 per share.

The Board of Directors reconfirms the Dividend Policy which, subject to profit generation, targets a growing dividend while maintaining a prudent balance sheet and an adequate level of cash flow in the company for investment to support growth. Over the long term, the company is aiming for a pay-out ratio of around 40% of the result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert.

in €	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total gross dividend	1.100	0.700	0.350	1.000	1.500	1.650	1.800	1.9001
Net dividend²	0.770	0.490	0.245	0.700	1.050	1.155	1.260	1.330
Coupon number	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16

¹ The dividend is subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2025.

² Subject to the applicable tax legislation.

General Meetings of Shareholders 2024

The Annual General Meeting was held on 8 May 2024.

An Extraordinary General Meeting was held on the same day. The meeting amended the Articles of Association, thereby removing the obligation for the General Meeting to decide on the number of Directors and extending a number of authorizations to the Board of Directors (including the authority to acquire, accept in pledge and transfer own securities).

The resolutions of the meetings are available at www.bekaert.com.

Investor Relations

Bekaert is committed to provide clear, timely, and accurate information to all of its financial stakeholders.

Bekaert's Investor Relations team is available to share information and updates on the company's strategy, business outlook, financial performance, and sustainability progress. Key information can be found in the Investor Relations section of the website

Elements pertinent to a take-over bid

Restrictions on the transfer of securities

The Articles of Association contain no restrictions on the transfer of Bekaert shares, except in the case of a change of control, for which the prior approval of the Board of Directors must be requested in accordance with Article 9 of the Articles of Association.

Subject to the foregoing, the shares are freely transferable.

The Board of Directors is not aware of any restrictions imposed by law on the transfer of shares by any shareholder.

Restrictions on the exercise of voting rights

According to the Articles of Association, each share entitles the holder to one vote. The Articles of Association contain no restrictions on the voting rights, and each shareholder can exercise his voting rights if he was validly admitted to the General Meeting and his rights had not been suspended. The admission rules to the General Meeting are laid down in the BCCA and in the Articles of Association. Pursuant to the Articles of Association, the Company is entitled to suspend the exercise of rights attaching to securities belonging to several owners.

No person can vote at a General Meeting of Shareholders using voting rights attached to securities that had not been timely reported in accordance with the law.

The Board of Directors is not aware of any other restrictions imposed by law on the exercise of voting rights.

Agreements among shareholders

The Board of Directors is not aware of any agreements among shareholders that may result in restrictions on the transfer of securities or the exercise of voting rights, except those disclosed in the notifications referred to in the Parent Company Information section (interests in share capital).

Appointment and replacement of Directors

The Articles of Association and the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter contain specific rules concerning the (re)appointment, induction and evaluation of Directors.

Directors are appointed for a term not exceeding four years by the General Meeting of Shareholders, which can also dismiss them at any time. An appointment or dismissal requires a simple majority of votes. The candidates for the office of Director who have not previously held that position in the Company must inform the Board of Directors of their candidacy at least two months before the Annual General Meeting.

Only when a position of Director prematurely becomes vacant, can the remaining Directors appoint (co-opt) a new Director. In such a case, the next General Meeting will make the definitive appointment.

The appointment process for Directors is led by the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, which submits a reasoned recommendation to the full Board of Directors. Based on such recommendation, the Board of Directors decides which candidates will be nominated to the General Meeting for appointment. Directors can, as a rule, be reappointed for an indefinite number of terms, provided they are at least 30 and at most 66 years of age at the time of their initial appointment. They retire in the year in which they reach the age of 69.

Amendments to the Articles of Association

The Articles of Association can be amended by an Extraordinary General Meeting in accordance with the BCCA. Each amendment to the Articles requires a quorum of at least 50% of the capital (if the quorum is not met, a second meeting with the same agenda should be called, for which no quorum requirement applies) and a qualified majority of 75% of the votes cast at the meeting (a majority of 80% applies for changes to the corporate purpose and the transformation of the legal form of the company).

Authority of the Board of Directors to issue, acquire, cancel and transfer shares

The Board of Directors is authorized by Article 41 of the Articles of Association to increase the capital, in one or more times, including by issuing convertible debentures or subscription rights, with a maximum amount (exclusive of the issue premium) of (i) € 79 891 000 for capital increases with (statutory or non-statutory) preferential subscription rights for the shareholders, and (ii) € 15 978 200 for any other capital increases. The authority is valid for five years beginning from the publication of this authorization granted on 25 February 2025.

The Board of Directors is authorized by Article 10 of the Articles of Association to acquire and to accept in pledge own shares and certificates relating thereto and to subscribe for certificates following the issue of the corresponding shares, in compliance with the applicable conditions prescribed by law, without the total number of own shares and certificates relating thereto (counting each certificate in proportion to the number of shares to which it relates) held or accepted in pledge by the company pursuant to this authorization exceeding 20% of the total number of shares, at a price ranging between minimum € 1.00 and maximum 30% above the arithmetic average of the closing price of the company's share during the last thirty trading days preceding the Board of Directors' resolution to acquire, to accept in pledge or to subscribe for. This authorization is granted for a period of five years beginning on 17 May 2024.

The authorization set forth above does not affect the possibilities, pursuant to the applicable legal provisions, for the Board of Directors to acquire or accept in pledge own shares and certificates relating thereto or to subscribe for certificates following the issue of the corresponding shares if no authorization in the Articles of Association or authorization of the General Meeting is required.

The Board of Directors is authorized by Article 10 of the Articles of Association to cancel own shares or certificates relating thereto.

The Company may transfer its own shares, profit-sharing bonds or certificates relating thereto only in compliance with the applicable conditions prescribed by law.

The Board of Directors is authorized by Article 11 of the Articles of Association to transfer own shares, profitsharing bonds or certificates relating thereto to one or more specified persons whether or not member of the personnel.

The authorizations set forth above do not affect the possibilities, pursuant to the applicable legal provisions, for the Board of Directors to transfer own shares, profit-sharing bonds and certificates relating thereto, if no authorization in the Articles of Association or authorization of the General Meeting is required.

The powers of the Board of Directors are more fully described in the applicable legal provisions, the Articles of Association and the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter.

Change of control

The Company is a party to several significant agreements that take effect, alter or terminate upon a change of control of the Company following a public takeover bid or otherwise.

To the extent that those agreements grant rights to third parties that significantly affect the assets of the Company or that give rise to a significant debt or obligation of the Company, those rights were granted by the Special General Meetings held on 13 April 2006, 16 April 2008, 15 April 2009, 14 April 2010 and 7 April 2011 and by the Annual General Meetings held on 9 May 2012, 8 May 2013, 14 May 2014, 13 May 2015, 11 May 2016, 10 May 2017, 9 May 2018, 8 May 2019, 13 May 2020, 12 May 2021, 10 May 2023, and 8 May 2024 in accordance with Article 7:151 of the BCCA; the minutes of those meetings were filed with the Registry of the Commercial Court of Gent, division Kortrijk on 14 April 2006, 18 April 2008, 17 April 2009, 16 April 2010, 15 April 2011, 30 May 2012, 23 May 2013, 20 June 2014, 19 May 2015, 18 May 2016, 2 June 2017, 7 February 2019, 23 May 2019, 23 June 2020, 24 June 2021, 20 February 2024, and 2 July 2024 respectively and are available at www.bekaert.com.

Most agreements are joint venture contracts (describing the relationship between the parties in the context of a joint venture company), contracts whereby financial institutions, retail investors or other investors commit funds to the Company or one of its subsidiaries, and contracts for the supply of products or services by or to the Company. Each of those contracts contains clauses that, in the case of a change of control of the Company, entitle the other party, in certain cases and under certain conditions, to terminate the contract prematurely and, in the case of financial contracts, also to demand early repayment of the loan funds. The joint venture contracts provide that, in the case of a change of control of the Company, the other party can acquire the Company's shareholding in the joint venture (except for the Chinese joint ventures, where the parties have to agree whether one of them will continue the joint venture on its own, whereupon that party has to purchase the other party's shareholding), whereby the value for the transfer of the shareholding is determined in accordance with contractual formulas that aim to ensure a transfer at an arm's length price.

Other elements

• The Company has not issued securities with special control rights.
• The control rights attaching to the shares acquired by employees pursuant to the long-term incentive plans are exercised directly by the employees.
• No agreements have been concluded between the Company and its Directors or employees providing for compensation if, because of a takeover bid, the Directors resign or are made redundant without valid reason or if the employment of the employees is terminated.

Control and ERM

Internal control and risk management systems in relation to the preparation of the consolidated financial statements

The following description of Bekaert's internal control and risk management systems is based on the Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992) and the Enterprise Risk Management Framework (2004) published by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

The Board of Directors has approved a framework of internal control and risk management for the Company and the Group set up by the BGE and monitors the implementation thereof. The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee monitors the effectiveness of the internal control and risk management systems, with a view to ensuring that the main risks are properly identified, managed and disclosed according to the framework adopted by the Board of Directors. The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee also makes recommendations to the Board of Directors in this respect.

Control environment

The local Financial Controller is responsible for the legal entity financial statements, and the Group Finance Department is responsible for the final review of the financial information of the different legal entities and for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

The Internal Audit Department conducts a risk-based audit program to validate the internal control effectiveness in the different processes at legal entity, regional and group level to assure a reliable financial reporting.

Bekaert's consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which have been endorsed by the European Union. These financial statements are also in compliance with the IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

All IFRS accounting principles, guidelines and interpretations, to be applied by all legal entities, are grouped in the Bekaert Accounting Manual, which is available on the Bekaert intranet to all employees involved in financial reporting. Such manual is regularly updated by Group Finance in the case of relevant changes in IFRS, or interpretations thereof, and the users are informed of any such changes. IFRS trainings take place in the different regions when deemed necessary or appropriate.

The internal control and risk management systems for the statutory accounts of NV Bekaert SA are similar to the internal control and risk management systems of the consolidated accounts.

Most of the Group companies use Bekaert's global enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and the accounting transactions are registered in a common operating chart of accounts, whereby accounting manuals describe the standard way of booking of the most relevant transactions. Such accounting manuals are explained to the users during training sessions and are available on the Bekaert intranet.

All Group companies use the same software to report the financial data for consolidation and external reporting purposes. A reporting manual is available on the Bekaert intranet and trainings take place when deemed necessary or appropriate.

Risk assessment

Appropriate measures are taken to assure a timely and qualitative reporting and to reduce the potential risks related to the financial and ESG reporting process, including: (i) proper coordination between the Investor Relations, ESG reporting and Group Finance departments, (ii) careful planning of all activities, including owners and timings, (iii) guidelines which are distributed by Group Finance to the owners prior to the quarterly reporting, including relevant points of attention, and (iv) follow-up and feedback of the timeliness, quality and lessons learned in order to strive for continuous improvement.

Material changes to the IFRS accounting principles are coordinated by Group Finance, reviewed by the Statutory Auditor, reported to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee, and acknowledged by the Board of Directors of the Company.

Material changes to the statutory accounting principles of a Group company are approved by its Board of Directors.

Control activities

The proper application by the legal entities of the accounting principles as described in the Bekaert Accounting Manual, as well as the accuracy, consistency and completeness of the reported information, is reviewed on an ongoing basis by the finance organization (as described above).

In addition, all relevant entities are controlled by the Internal Audit Department on a periodic basis. Policies and procedures are in place for the most important underlying processes (sales, procurement, investments, treasury, etc.).

A close monitoring of potential segregation of duties conflicts in the ERP system is carried out.

Information and communication

Bekaert has deployed in most of the Group companies a global ERP system platform to support the efficient processing of business transactions and provide its management with transparent and reliable management information to monitor, control and direct its business operations.

The provision of information technology services to run, maintain and develop those systems is to large extent outsourced to professional IT service delivery organizations, which are directed and controlled through appropriate IT governance structures and monitored on their delivery performance through comprehensive service level agreements.

Together with its IT providers, Bekaert has implemented adequate management processes to assure that appropriate measures are taken daily to sustain the performance, availability and integrity of its IT systems. At regular intervals the adequacy of those procedures is reviewed and audited and where needed further optimized.

Proper assignment of responsibilities, and coordination between the pertinent departments, assures an efficient and timely communication process of periodic financial information to the market. In the first and third quarters, a trading update is released, whereas at mid-year and year-end all relevant financial information is disclosed. Prior to the external reporting, the sales and financial information is subject to (i) the appropriate controls by the above-mentioned control organization, (ii) review by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee, and (iii) approval by the Board of Directors of the Company.

Monitoring

Any significant change of the IFRS accounting principles as applied by Bekaert is subject to review by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and approval by the Company's Board of Directors.

On a periodic basis, the members of the Board of Directors are updated on the evolution and important changes in the underlying IFRS standards. All relevant financial information is presented to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and the Board of Directors to enable them to analyze the financial statements. All related press releases are approved prior to communication to the market.

Relevant findings by the Internal Audit Department and/or the Statutory Auditor on the application of the accounting principles, as well as the adequacy of the policies and procedures, and segregation of duties, are reported to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

In addition, a periodic treasury update is submitted to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

A procedure is in place to convene the appropriate governing body of the Company on short notice when circumstances so dictate.

General internal control and ERM

The Board of Directors has approved the Bekaert Code of Conduct, which was first issued on 1 December 2004 and last updated in December 2023. The Code of Conduct sets forth the Bekaert mission and values as well as the basic principles of how Bekaert wants to do business.

Implementation of the Code of Conduct is mandatory for all subsidiaries of the Group and all managerial and salaried employees renew their commitment annually. The Raising Integrity Concern (whistleblowing) procedure enforces and underpins its implementation. The Code of Conduct is included in the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter as Appendix 3 and available at www.bekaert.com.

In addition, higher management plus specific functional teams follow a governance training and are required to report potential concerns about the integrity of the company's financial and ESG statement, as a subcertification step to the "statement from the responsible persons" in the annual report.

More detailed policies and guidelines are developed as considered necessary to ensure consistent implementation of the Code of Conduct throughout the Group.

Bekaert's internal control framework consists of a set of group policies for the main business processes and applies Group wide. Bekaert has different tools in place to constantly monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and the operation of the internal control framework.

The Internal Audit and Risk Management Department monitors the internal control performance and risks based on the global framework and reports to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee at each of its meetings. The Compliance Department reports to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee at each of its meetings on compliance matters.

The BGE regularly evaluates the Group's exposure to risk, the potential financial impact thereof and the actions to monitor, mitigate and control the exposure.

At the request of the Board of Directors and the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee, management has developed a permanent global enterprise risk management (ERM) framework.

A global approach

Bekaert's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach is integrated within the company's strategy and the resulting decisions and activities that drive its implementation.

This permanent ERM framework helps managing uncertainty in Bekaert's value creation model. It also contributes to achieving the company's objectives, both financial and non-financial, and complying with laws and regulations as well as with the Bekaert Code of Conduct.

The framework consists of the identification, assessment and prioritization of the major risks confronting Bekaert, and of the continuous reporting and monitoring of those major risks, including the development and implementation of risk mitigation plans.

The risks are identified in seven risk categories: strategic, people/organization, operational, legal/compliance, financial, corporate and geopolitical/country risks.

The identified risks are classified on two axes: probability and impact or consequence. To assess impact and probability, we use the following heatmap.

Strategic	People / Organization	Operational	Legal / Compliance	Financial	Corporate	Geopolitical / Country
Market customers	Organization / Structure	Supply chain / S&OP	Regulation	Market / Forex risk	Shareholder Structure	Political / Social
Market Competition	HR / People	Plant / Equipment	Code of Conduct	Credit risk	Reputational	Economic
Market Products		Process / technology	Contractual obligations	Liquidity risk	Sustainability	Natural Hazards
Industry		Quality	ntellectual Property	Balance Sheet	Balance Sheet
M&A		SH&E	Human rights	Tax risk	Strategy
		Security
		IT / Cyber

	Probability	Impact
Very low	Not expected to occur but – may do so in very • exceptional circumstances	Very limited No loss of confidence by key stakeholders
Low	Not expected to occur but may do so in exceptional circumstances	Below € 1 mln Minor loss of confidence by key stakeholders
Medium	Little probability of event • occurring	Between € 1 mln - € 10 mln Moderate loss of confidence by key stakeholders
High	Reasonable to expect event to occur	Between € 10 mln - € 50 mln Moderate loss of confidence by key stakeholders
Very High	Indication of imminent occurrence	Above € 50 mln Significant loss of confidence by key stakeholders

Decisions are made and action plans defined to mitigate the identified risks. Also, the risk sensitivity evolution (decreasing, increasing, stable) is evaluated.

Below are the main risks included in Bekaert's 2024 ERM report, as reported to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and the Board of Directors.

Risk	Trend	Mitigation
Strategic risk / Corporate
Under-delivery of anticipated growth and returns Organic expansion investments are subject to risks of delay and cost overruns due to unforeseen roadblocks and as such the anticipated return of such projects might not be reached within the intended timeframe. Potential M&A projects, larger in scope and hence with a higher risk potential if the anticipated returns are not achieved, entail the additional risk of acquiring or merging businesses that are not a strategic fit with Bekaert. Major investments with a delay in generating the anticipated returns may affect the cash position and funding cost of the company. Uncertain market growth and ramp-up of sectors, such as green energy may also affect the anticipated growth of the businesses negatively.		Bekaert has established a robust framework for managing capital allocation, as well as M&A projects. This framework includes strict criteria and close governance, which ensures high-quality defense measures in the preparation, execution, and monitoring of growth projects. An experienced and multi-disciplinary M&A team who handles M&A projects has also been established.
Technology shift Impactful technology changes can affect sectors that are relevant to Bekaert, such as tire markets, energy and utility markets, and the mining, construction & infrastructure sectors.		Bekaert actively participates in scouting and technology intelligence networks. Strategic technology partnerships are defined and deployed. Additionally, innovation pipeline is periodically reviewed, evolutions at our customers and in our markets are actively monitored and innovation is increasingly embedded in our individual business units.
Under-delivery of sustainability targets Underperformance on sustainability targets can also cause reputational damage and affect Bekaert's position as a preferred partner to customers and investors		Bekaert has established an ambitious sustainability strategy and a clear roadmap, including investment plan to execute the strategy. The strategy is periodically reviewed to ensure that the stakeholder interests and outcome of double materiality assessment are fully embedded. A robust data framework and stringent governance measures have been established to ensure high quality data and to enable us to closely monitor the progress of the sustainability performance.
People risk
People risk The competitive labor market can lead to shortages of specific talent capabilities, particularly in regions where the talent pool is limited and where our offices and factories are in remote areas. This situation could result in cost inflation or disrupt business continuity.		Bekaert has put a framework of strategic talent pools in place and conducted a skill gap analysis to align with the company's key capabilities. Compensation and benefits benchmark study are regularly performed with a key focus on critical job families. Talent acquisition and leadership programs are high priorities. Diversity & Inclusion initiatives and targets are put in place to structurally enhance performance.

Risk	Trend	Mitigation
Operational risk
Supply chain risk Bekaert is subject to the risks from continuous changes in trade policy worldwide, and by trade tensions between specific countries and regions.		Bekaert's global presence reduces the risk of source dependency and a lack of alternatives to continue its business activities, should one source fail to deliver or become too expensive.
Bekaert is also subject to disruptions in supply chains due to shortages of raw materials and of logistics services.		Bekaert's pro-active supplier risk management approach reduces the probability and impact of the risk.
Increased source dependency might have an impact on Bekaert's business continuity in certain locations and on profitability, due to increased costs and duties.		Early assessment of impact of changed regulations and preparation of action plans help to manage the risk.
		As part of the Group's focus on pricing discipline, passing on cost inflation through selling prices is a priority area to safeguard the profitability.
Environmental laws Bekaert is subject to environmental laws and regulations, which become more stringent all over the world. Changes in policies could increase the environmental liabilities of the company or could require process changes to comply with the stricter regulation.		Prevention and risk management play an important role in Bekaert's environmental policy. This includes measures against soil and ground water contamination, responsible use of water and worldwide ISO14001 certification. Bekaert's global procedure to ensure precautionary measures against soil and ground water contamination (ProSoil) is continuously monitored in relation to regulations, ISO certification, best practices, and actual implementation. The company also maps upcoming or changing legislation to define potential gaps and implements roadmaps to address the gaps.
Cyber-security risk Many operational activities of Bekaert depend on IT-systems that are developed and maintained by internal and external experts. Home office work has expanded the number of end-point devices and connection channels. A cyber-attack affecting critical IT- systems could interrupt Bekaert's business continuity and affect profitability. It may also lead to risks associated with data privacy and confidentiality		Bekaert implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity roadmap over the past year to mitigate risk and ensure the safety of our assets and data. This includes the establishment of a robust security governance model, continuous enhancements to our cybersecurity solutions, and a focus on improving our response and recovery capabilities. We have also invested in next-generation threat management to stay ahead of the evolving cybersecurity landscape. These efforts serve to ensure the ongoing protection of our company and our stakeholders.
Legal / Compliance
Regulatory and compliance risk As a global company, Bekaert is subject to many laws and regulations across all countries where it is active or does business. Such laws and regulations are becoming more complex, more stringent and change faster and more frequently than before. These numerous laws and regulations include, among others, data privacy requirements (such as the European General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act), intellectual property laws, labor relation laws, tax laws, anti-competition regulations, import and trade restrictions (for example the trade policies in the US and the EU), exchange laws, anti-bribery and anti-corruption regulations, health and safety regulations. Compliance actions may require additional costs or capital expenditures, which could negatively impact the profit performance of the group. In addition, given the high level of complexity of these laws, there is a risk that Bekaert may inadvertently not (timely) comply. Violations could result in fines, criminal sanctions, cessation of business activities, and a reputation risk.		The Bekaert Code of Conduct has a whistleblowing procedure, and all managers and other salaried professionals worldwide annually commit to the Code after a mandatory test. The company also has anti bribery and anti-corruption, sanction, anti-trust, equipment safety standard policies in place. The company regularly organizes trainings on anti bribery, anti-trust, safety and other legal awareness matters. Bekaert steers compliance with laws and regulations through a Compliance Committee that monitors and manages the actions that are needed to ensure compliance. In addition, around 140 managers (higher management plus specific functional teams) are required to report potential concerns about the integrity of the company's financial and ESG statements, as a sub-certification step to the 'statement from the responsible persons' in the annual report.
Intellectual property risk Intellectual property leakages can harm Bekaert and help the competition, both in terms of product development, process innovation and machine engineering. Bekaert cannot assure that its intellectual property will not be objected to, infringed upon or circumvented by third parties. Furthermore, Bekaert may fail to successfully obtain patent authorization, complete patent registration or protect such patents, which may materially and adversely affect our business position.		At year-end 2024, Bekaert had more than 1 700 patents, utility models and design files and more than 1 900 trademark files. Bekaert also initiates patent infringement proceedings against competitors when such cases are observed or reported. In addition, Bekaert has an IP policy in place and organizes trainings.

Risk	Trend	Mitigation
Financial risks
Currency exchange risk Bekaert's assets, income, earnings and cash flows are influenced by movements in exchange rates of several currencies. The Group's currency risk can be split into two categories: translational and transactional currency risk. A translational currency risk arises when the financial data of foreign subsidiaries are converted into the Group's consolidation currency, the euro. The Group is also exposed to transactional currency risks resulting from its investing, financing, sales and operating activities.		Bekaert has a hedging policy in place to limit the impact of currency exchange risks.
Credit risk Bekaert is subject to the risk that commercial counterparties delay or do not pay their liabilities. While Bekaert has a credit policy in place that considers the risk profiles of the customers and the markets to which they belong, this policy cannot fully exclude the credit risk. This risk may impact the cash position and the profitability of the Group.		Bekaert has credit management processes and risk transfer solutions in place to monitor overdue and exposure and limit credit risks. Bekaert has a credit insurance program in place to limit such risks. The group has also strengthened its credit procedures, reporting and IT-tools.
Risk of increased funding costs Increasing interest rates might lead to increasing funding costs. Also deteriorating financial performance of the company might lead to higher financing cost and/or (more) restrictive covenants and/or more securities		Bekaert continuously manages its net debt by reducing working capital (Accounts Receivable, Inventory), controlling Capex and controlling Expenses.
Impairment risk In accordance with the International Accounting Standards regarding the impairment of assets (i.e., IAS36), an asset must not be carried in a company's financial statements at more than the highest recoverable amount (i.e., by selling or using the asset). In the event the carrying amount (i.e., book value) exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired. For further information on Bekaert's goodwill on the balance sheet (and impairment losses relating thereto), we refer to note 6.2 (Goodwill) in the Financial Statements of this report.		Bekaert regularly tests indications of impairment needs of the cash generating units.
Uninsured risks Insurance coverage restrictions and insurance premium cost adjustment are applicable for most risks, which creates a risk of uninsured losses and higher costs.		Bekaert focuses on operational risk management to reduce the risks and is continuously looking for new and alternative insurance solutions to reduce the impact.
Margin erosion due to cost inflation Wire rod, Bekaert's main raw material, is purchased from steel mills from all over the world. Wire rod represents about 39% of the cost of sales. If Bekaert is unsuccessful in passing on cost increases to customers in due time, this may negatively influence the profit margins of Bekaert. Also, the opposite price trend entails profit risks: if raw materials prices drop significantly and Bekaert has higher priced material in stock, then the profitability may be hit by (non-cash) inventory valuation corrections at the balance sheet date of a reporting period.		In principle, price movements are passed on in the selling prices as soon as possible, through contractually agreed pricing mechanisms or through individual negotiation. Bekaert also has tools in place to mitigate the risk.
Tax risks The international nature of Bekaert's activities and the rapidly changing international tax environment encompass some tax risks. Bekaert is subject to different tax laws in many countries. Bekaert seeks to structure its operations in a tax-efficient manner, while complying with the applicable tax laws and regulations. This does not exclude the risk that a subsidiary of Bekaert may incur higher than anticipated tax liabilities, which could adversely affect the effective tax rate, results of operations and financial position. Bekaert subsidiaries can be subject to government-mandated tax investigations. Such investigations have in recent years become more regular and may result in increased advisory costs and additional liabilities.		Although supported by tax consultants and specialists, Bekaert cannot guarantee that changes in tax laws, varying interpretations and inconsistent enforcement, will not adversely affect Bekaert's effective tax rate, results of operations and financial condition. It is Bekaert's practice to recognize provisions (per entity) for potential tax liabilities.

Risk	Trend	Mitigation
Geopolitical / Country
Economic crisis Impactful demand changes can affect sectors that are relevant to Bekaert. A crisis or recession can lead to a significant demand decline driven by weak consumer confidence and postponed investments. The resulting upstream and downstream overcapacity can lead to price erosion across the supply chain.		To mitigate these risks, Bekaert implements measures to be cost-competitive, to flex costs, to increase agility of the business units, active portfolio management and to pass on cost inflation. The company's focus moves beyond the traditional markets to less cyclical sectors with strong growth potential, including new mobility, renewable energy, and markets focused on decarbonization and recycling trends. The company's efforts in research and innovation also address the anticipated technology shifts toward more sustainable solutions. Strategically, Bekaert's presence in different sectors and geographies inherently makes the company more resilient to country or sector-specific trends.
Geopolitical risk Bekaert is also present in countries with political and economic risks, including China, Venezuela, Russia and Turkey. In case a major political, social, or asset damage incident would occur, then an impact on the profit is possible		As part of a business continuity plan, Bekaert performs scenario analyses and has measures in place to reduce this risk through back-up scenarios and delivery approvals from other locations.
Climate change impact Damage caused by climate change impact (heavy rains/flooding, drought/water shortages, heat-stress, fire weather, extreme storms/wind damage) may affect the continuity of Bekaert's activities in affected locations.		Bekaert is assessing the possible impact of climate change and implements adaptation measures such as adequate water run-off and/or collection, flood defenses, provision of adequate firefighting facilities, water management programs, and employee working condition provisions in the event of extreme temperatures. As part of Bekaert's climate risk management strategy, an in-depth climate risk study has been conducted to assess the possible impact of physical climate change on Bekaert's global assets and operations. The summary of the conclusions of this study are included in the ESG Statements under E1 Climate Change.

An effective internal control and ERM framework is necessary to reach a reasonable level of assurance related to Bekaert's financial and ESG reports and to prevent fraud. Internal control on financial and ESG reporting cannot prevent or trace all errors due to limits peculiar for control, such as possible human errors, misleading or circumventing controls, or fraud. That is why an effective internal control only generates reasonable assurance for the preparation and the fair presentation of the financial information. Failure to pick up an error due to human errors, misleading or circumventing controls, or fraud could negatively impact Bekaert's reputation and financial results. This may also result in Bekaert failing to comply with its ongoing disclosure obligations.

Financial statements

Consolidated financial statements

Consolidated income statement

in thousands of € - Year ended 31 December	Notes	2023	2024
Sales	5.1	4 327 892	3 957 814
Cost of sales	5.2	-3 623 289	-3 302 558
Gross profit	5.2	704 602	655 256
Selling expenses	5.2	-159 907	-158 521
Administrative expenses	5.2	-158 034	-150 878
Research and development expenses	5.2	-56 587	-56 670
Other operating revenues	5.2	35 151	29 487
Other operating expenses	5.2	-30 814	-22 496
Operating result (EBIT)	5.2	334 412	296 178
of which
EBIT - Underlying	5.2 / 5.3	388 328	348 156
One-off items	5.2	-53 917	-51 978
Interest income	5.4	12 983	18 299
Interest expense	5.4	-40 092	-37 998
Other financial income and expenses	5.5	-38 879	-18 857
Result before taxes		268 424	257 622
Income taxes	5.6	-62 167	-62 856
Result after taxes (consolidated companies)		206 257	194 767
Share in the results of joint ventures and associates	5.7	46 623	48 799
RESULT FOR THE PERIOD		252 881	243 566
Attributable to
equity holders of Bekaert		254 619	238 904
non-controlling interests	6.15	-1 738	4 661
Earnings per share
in € per share	5.8	2023	2024
Result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert
Basic		4.754	4.559
Diluted		4.725	4.548

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this income statement

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

in thousands of € - Year ended 31 December	Notes	2023	2024
Result for the period		252 881	243 566
Other comprehensive income (OCI)	6.14
Other comprehensive income reclassifiable to income statement in subsequent periods
Exchange differences
Exchange differences arising during the year on subsidiaries		-49 308	43 497
Exchange differences arising during the year on joint ventures and associates		9 925	-32 393
Reclassification adjustments relating to entity disposals or step acquisitions		8 570	—
OCI reclassifiable to income statement in subsequent periods, after tax		-30 813	11 104
Other comprehensive income non-reclassifiable to income statement in subsequent periods
Remeasurement gains and losses on defined-benefit plans		-15 000	20 502
Net fair value gain (+) / loss (-) on investments in equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI		-2 822	8 985
Share of non-reclassifiable OCI of joint ventures and associates		-85	80
Deferred taxes relating to non-reclassifiable OCI	6.7	3 948	-4 469
OCI non-reclassifiable to income statement in subsequent periods, after tax		-13 960	25 099
Other comprehensive income for the period		-44 773	36 202
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD		208 108	279 768
Attributable to
equity holders of Bekaert		210 046	274 054
non-controlling interests	6.15	-1 938	5 714

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement of comprehensive income.

Consolidated balance sheet

Assets as at 31 December

in thousands of €	Notes	2023	2024
Intangible assets	6.1	68 669	92 877
Goodwill	6.2	152 072	166 406
Property, plant and equipment	6.3	1 118 063	1 199 961
RoU Property, plant and equipment	6.4	134 910	145 154
Investments in joint ventures and associates	6.5	223 623	188 620
Other non-current assets	6.6	68 202	101 010
Deferred tax assets	6.7	120 779	116 291
Non-current assets		1 886 317	2 010 319
Inventories	6.8	788 506	833 987
Bills of exchange received	6.8	55 507	29 110
Trade receivables	6.8	552 989	580 663
Other receivables	6.9 / 6.21	103 089	134 240
Short-term deposits	6.10	1 238	2 312
Cash and cash equivalents	6.10	631 687	504 384
Other current assets	6.11	49 553	57 047
Assets classified as held for sale	6.12	12 337	9 825
Current assets		2 194 907	2 151 568
Total		4 081 224	4 161 887

Equity and liabilities as at 31 December

in thousands of €	Notes	2023	2024
Share capital	6.13	161 145	159 782
Share premium		39 517	39 517
Retained earnings	6.14	2 131 937	2 249 232
Treasury shares	6.14	-76 896	-81 502
Other Group reserves	6.14	-142 838	-108 950
Equity attributable to equity holders of Bekaert		2 112 865	2 258 079
Non-controlling interests	6.15	53 164	53 689
Equity		2 166 029	2 311 768
Employee benefit obligations	6.16	57 050	46 463
Provisions	6.17	25 795	26 135
Interest-bearing debt	6.18	646 652	496 222
Other non-current liabilities	6.19	1 876	1 356
Deferred tax liabilities	6.7	35 618	31 321
Non-current liabilities		766 991	601 497
Interest-bearing debt	6.18	252 283	306 309
Trade payables	6.8	632 950	668 111
Employee benefit obligations	6.8 / 6.16	140 325	126 820
Provisions	6.17	4 344	11 387
Income taxes payable	6.21	57 780	71 530
Other current liabilities	6.20	60 523	64 465
Liabilities associated with assets classified as held for sale	6.12	—	—
Current liabilities		1 148 204	1 248 622
Total		4 081 224	4 161 887

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this balance sheet.

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

Attributable to equity holders of Bekaert ¹
in thousands of €	Share capital	Share premium	Retained earnings	Treasury shares	Cumulative translation adjust ments	Revaluation reserve for non consolidated equity invest ments	Remea surement reserve for DB plans	Deferred tax reserve	Other revaluation reserves	Total	Non controlling interests ²	Total equity
Balance as at 1 January 2023	173 737	39 519	2 115 216	-139 314	-93 820	-8 353	-12 659	18 381	-1	2 092 706	136 850	2 229 556
Result for the period			254 619							254 619	-1 738	252 881
Other comprehensive income			-1		-30 713	-2 822	-15 038	4 000		-44 574	-199	-44 773
Reclassifications			123				-123			—		—
Effect of other changes in Group structure ³									-1 691	-1 691	-76 995	-78 686
Equity-settled share-based payment plans			-8 919							-8 919		-8 919
Creation of new shares	1	-1	—							—		—
Treasury shares transactions	-12 593		-140 536	62 418						-90 712		-90 712
Dividends			-88 564							-88 564	-4 754	-93 318
Balance as at 31 December 2023	161 145	39 517	2 131 937	-76 897	-124 533	-11 175	-27 820	22 381	-1 692	2 112 865	53 164	2 166 029

¹ See note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'.

² See note 6.15. 'Non-controlling interests'.

3 Business disposals: disposal of the SWS businesses in Chile and Peru.

	Attributable to equity holders of Bekaert ¹
in thousands of €	Share capital	Share premium	Retained earnings	Treasury shares	Cumulative translation adjust ments	Revaluation reserve for non consolidated equity invest ments	Remea surement reserve for DB plans	Deferred tax reserve	Other revaluation reserves	Total	Non controlling interests ²	Total equity
Balance as at 1 January 2024	161 145	39 517	2 131 937	-76 897	-124 533	-11 175	-27 820	22 381	-1 692	2 112 865	53 164	2 166 029
Result for the period			238 904							238 904	4 661	243 566
Other comprehensive income					10 422	8 985	20 289	-4 546		35 150	1 053	36 202
Reclassifications										—		—
Effect of other changes in Group structure			1 262		—	-1 262				—		—
Equity-settled share-based payment plans			-15 170							-15 170		-15 170
Creation of new shares	—	—	—							—		—
Treasury shares transactions	-1 363		-13 943	-4 606						-19 912		-19 912
Dividends			-93 758							-93 758	-5 189	-98 947
Balance as at 31 December 2024	159 782	39 517	2 249 232	-81 502	-114 111	-3 452	-7 531	17 836	-1 692	2 258 079	53 689	2 311 768

¹ See note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'.

² See note 6.15. 'Non-controlling interests'.

Consolidated cash flow statement

in thousands of € - Year ended 31 December	Notes	2023	2024
Operating activities
Operating result (EBIT)		334 412	296 178
Non-cash items included in operating result	7.1	217 046	188 911
Investing items included in operating result	7.1	-4 114	-4 630
Amounts used on provisions and employee benefit obligations	7.1	-36 872	-36 596
Income taxes paid	5.6 / 7.1	-79 155	-69 421
Gross cash flows from operating activities		431 316	374 441
Change in operating working capital	6.8	12 147	37 139
Other operating cash flows	7.1	-3 628	-37 610
Cash flows from operating activities		439 834	373 971
Investing activities
New business combinations	7.3	-5 864	-39 170
Other portfolio investments	7.1	-8 843	-1 443
Proceeds from disposals of investments	7.2	109 294	1 262
Dividends received	6.5	59 886	50 939
Purchase of intangible assets	6.1	-18 750	-25 664
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	6.3	-191 260	-196 074
Purchase of RoU Land	6.4	—	-13
Proceeds from disposals of fixed assets	7.1	15 003	9 809
Cash flows from investing activities		-40 534	-200 355
Financing activities
Interest received	5.4	12 539	18 273
Interest paid	5.4	-35 360	-28 608
Gross dividend paid to shareholders of NV Bekaert SA		-88 564	-93 758
Gross dividend paid to non-controlling interests		-5 678	-420
Proceeds from long-term interest-bearing debt	6.18	25	2 383
Repayment of long-term interest-bearing debt	6.18	-217 428	-107 839
Cash flows from / to (-) short-term interest-bearing debt	6.18	-36 918	-47 545
Treasury shares transactions	6.13	-99 373	-30 065
Other financing cash flows	7.1	-11 357	-19 277
Cash flows from financing activities		-482 113	-306 855
Net increase or decrease (-) in cash and cash equivalents		-82 813	-133 239
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period		728 095	631 687
Effect of exchange rate fluctuations		-13 596	5 936
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period		631 687	504 384

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this cash flow statement.

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

1. General information

NV Bekaert SA (the "Company") is a company incorporated and domiciled in Belgium and a world market and technology leader in steel wire transformation and coating technologies. The Company's consolidated financial statements include those of the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group" or "Bekaert") and the Group's interest in joint ventures and associates accounted for using the equity method. The consolidated financial statements were authorized for issue by the Board of Directors of the Company on 19 March 2025.

2. Summary of principal accounting policies

2.1. Statement of compliance

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with and comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which have been endorsed by the European Union.

New and amended standards and interpretations

Standards, interpretations and amendments effective in 2024

In the current year, the Group has applied the below amendments to IFRS standards and Interpretations issued by the Board that are effective for an annual period that begins on or after 1 January 2024. Their adoption has not had any material impact on the disclosures or on the amounts reported in these financial statements.

• Amendments to IFRS 16 'Leases Lease liability in a Sale and Leaseback, effective on 1 January 2024.
• Amendments to IAS 1 "Presentation of Financial Statements" - Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-Current, effective 1 January 2024.
• Amendments to IAS 7 "Statement of cash flows" and IFRS 7 "Financial instruments" - Supplier Finance Arrangements, effective on 1 January 2024.

These amendments had no impact on the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

Standards, amendments and interpretations that are not yet effective in 2024 and have not been early adopted

The Group has not early adopted any other standards, interpretations or amendments that have been issued but are not yet effective in 2024. These new, and amendments to, standards and interpretations effective after 2024 are not expected to have a material impact on the financial statements.

• Amendments to IAS 21 "The effects of changes in foreign exchange rates" - Lack of exchangeability, effective on 1 January 2025.

• Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments (Amendments to IFRS 9, Financial Instruments and IFRS 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures), effective on 1 January 2026.
• Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) (Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7), effective on 1 January 2026.
• Annual Improvements to IFRS Accounting Standards – Amendments, effective on 1 January 2026 to:
  • IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards;
  • IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures and the accompanying implementation guidance for IFRS 7;
  • IFRS 9 Financial Instruments;
  • IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements;
  • IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows.
• IFRS 18 new accounting standard regarding the presentation and basic requirements for disclosures in the financial statements, effective January 1, 2027.

The Group will adopt these standards and interpretations, if applicable, when they come effective.

2.2. General principles

Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements are presented in thousands of euro (unless otherwise stated), under the historical cost convention, except for derivatives, financial assets at Stock and financial assets at FVTPL, which are stated at their fair value. Financial assets which do not have a quoted price in an active market or the fair value of which cannot be reliably measured are carried at cost. Unless explicitly stated, the accounting policies are applied consistently with the previous year. The Group has prepared the financial statements on the basis that it will continue to operate as a going concern.

Principles of consolidation

Subsidiaries

All subsidiaries are following the calendar year as accounting year, except for the Indian companies (from April to March) and Scheldestroom NV (from October to September). The latter do report to the Group according the calendar year. The subsidiaries apply the same accounting policies as the Group.

Joint arrangements and associates

The financial statements of joint ventures are prepared according to the accounting and valuation principles of the Group and for the same reporting period as the Group. Currently Bekaert does not have shareholdings in entities to be considered as associates.

Foreign currency translation

Items included in the financial statements of each of the Group's entities are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates ('the functional currency'). The consolidated financial statements are presented in euro, which is the Company's functional and the Group's presentation currency. Financial statements of foreign entities are translated as follows:

• assets and liabilities are translated at the closing exchange rate of the European Central Bank;
• income, expenses and cash flows are translated at the average exchange rate for the year;
• shareholders' equity is translated at historical exchange rates.

2.3. Balance sheet items

Intangible assets

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination are initially measured at fair value; intangible assets acquired separately are initially measured at cost. After initial recognition, intangible assets are measured at cost or fair value less accumulated amortization and any accumulated impairment losses. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the best estimate of their useful lives. The amortization period and method are reviewed at each financial year-end. A change in the useful life of an intangible asset is accounted for prospectively as a change in estimate.

Licenses, patents and similar rights

Expenditure on acquired licenses, patents, trademarks and similar rights is capitalized and amortized on a straight-line basis over the contractual period, if any, or the estimated useful life, which is normally considered not to be longer than ten years.

Computer software on-premises

Purchased on-premises software is installed and runs on computers on the premises of the company using the software, rather than at a remote facility such as a server farm or cloud. Generally, such costs are directly associated with the acquisition and implementation of acquired ERP software and are

recognized as intangible assets. ERP Software is amortized over ten years on a straight-line basis; all other software is amortized in a range of three to five years. External (relating to third party providers and consultants) and internal (relating to Bekaert personnel) implementation costs are eligible for capitalization.

Website development

An intangible asset should be recognized for website development costs if and only if, it meets the general recognition requirements in IAS 38 and the six conditions for recognition as development costs. Most important of these is the requirement to demonstrate how the website will generate probable future economic benefits. Costs linked to website development solely or primarily for promoting and advertising own products and services will be expensed as incurred. When the website is used directly or indirectly in the income generating process, the costs are eligible for capitalization.

Cloud computing arrangements

In a cloud computing arrangement, a customer pays a fee to a vendor in exchange for access to software over the internet. The software is hosted by the vendor on the vendor's computing infrastructure. Examples of cloud computing arrangements are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), platform as a service, infrastructure as a service. This differs from an "onpremise" arrangement where a company licenses or purchases a copy of the software from a vendor and operates the software on its own computing infrastructure. Up-front costs are often incurred in cloud computing arrangements to implement the software. To be eligible for capitalization as an intangible asset, the Group determines if the company is in control of the software or is in control of the configuration or implementation itself. The Group distinguishes the following types of cloud computing arrangements:

• private cloud arrangements: these are in nature comparable to on-premise arrangements and are accounted for equally;
• public cloud arrangements: configuration or implementation expenses linked to these arrangements are only eligible for capitalization if the Group is in control of the configuration or implementation itself.

Commercial assets

Commercial assets mainly include customer lists, customer contracts and brand names, mostly acquired in a business combination, with useful lives ranging between 8 and 15 years.

Emission rights

In the absence of any IASB standard or interpretation regulating the accounting treatment of CO2e emission rights, the Group has applied the 'net approach', according to which:

• the allowances are recognized as intangible assets and measured at cost (the cost of allowances issued free of charge being therefore zero); and
• any short position is recognized as a liability at the fair value of the allowances required to cover the shortfall at the balance sheet date.

Research and development

Expenditure on research activities undertaken with the prospect of gaining new scientific or technological knowledge and understanding is recognized in the income statement as an expense when it is incurred.

Expenditure on development activities where research findings are applied to a plan or design for the production of new or substantially improved products and processes prior to commercial production or use is capitalized if, and only if, all of the recognition criteria set out below are met:

• project passed the concept freeze; which means that the requirements as well as the concept on how to realize these requirements are clear and fixed. In practice, this confirms both the technical feasibility of completing the intangible asset so that it will be available for use or sale as well as the intention to complete the intangible asset.
• the development expenditure is more than 100k EUR;
• the assets are expected to generate future economic benefits (e.g. a potential market exists for the product or, if for internal use, its usefulness is demonstrated), and the estimated future benefits are longer than 1 year; and
• adequate technical, financial and other resources required for completion of the project are available.

Capitalized development costs are amortized from the commencement of commercial production of the product on a straight-line basis over the period during which benefits are expected to accrue. Capitalized development is amortized using a straight-line method over the period of their expected benefit, in general five years. An in-process research and development project acquired in a business combination is recognized as an asset separately from goodwill if its fair value can be measured reliably.

Goodwill and business combinations

Acquisitions of businesses are accounted for using the acquisition method. The consideration transferred in a business combination is measured at fair value, which is calculated as the sum of the acquisition-date fair values of the assets transferred by the Group, liabilities incurred by the Group to the former owners of the acquiree and the equity interests issued by the Group in exchange for control of the acquiree. Acquisition-related costs are recognized in profit or loss as incurred. The identifiable assets acquired and the liabilities assumed are recognized at their fair value at the acquisition date.

Non-controlling interests are initially measured either at fair value or at their proportionate share of the recognized amounts of the acquiree's identifiable net assets. The choice of measurement basis is made on a transaction-by-transaction basis. When the consideration transferred by the Group in a business combination includes assets or liabilities resulting from a contingent consideration arrangement, the contingent consideration is measured at its acquisition-date fair value and included as part of the consideration transferred in a business combination. Subsequent changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration are recognized in profit or loss.

When a business combination is achieved in stages, the Group's previously held equity interest in the acquiree is remeasured to fair value at the acquisition date (i.e. the date when the Group obtains control) and any resulting gain or loss is recognized in profit or loss. Amounts arising from interests in the acquiree prior to the acquisition date that have previously been recognized in other comprehensive income are reclassified to profit or loss where such treatment would be appropriate if that interest was disposed of.

Impairment of goodwill

For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill is allocated to each of the Group's cash-generating units that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the combination. Cash-generating units to which goodwill has been allocated are tested for impairment annually, or more frequently when there is an indication that the unit's value may be impaired. If the recoverable amount of the cashgenerating unit is less than the carrying amount of the unit, the impairment loss is allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the unit and then to the other assets of the unit in proportion to the carrying amount of each asset in the unit. An impairment loss recognized for goodwill is not reversed in a subsequent period.

Property, plant and equipment

The Group has opted for the historical cost model and not for the revaluation model. When significant parts of plant and equipment are required to be replaced at intervals, the Group depreciates them separately based on their specific useful lives. Likewise, when a major inspection is performed, its cost is recognized in the carrying amount of the property, plant and equipment as a replacement if the recognition criteria are satisfied. All other repairs and maintenance costs are recognized in profit or loss as incurred.

Depreciation is provided over the estimated useful lives of the various classes of property, plant and equipment on a straight-line basis. The useful life and depreciation method are reviewed at least at each financial year-end. Unless revised due to specific changes in the estimated economic useful life, annual depreciation rates are as follows:

• land: 0%
• buildings: 5%
• plant, machinery and equipment: 8%-25%
• R&D testing equipment: 16.7%-25%
• furniture and vehicles: 20%
• computer hardware: 20%

The residual values, useful lives and methods of depreciation of property, plant and equipment are reviewed at each financial year-end and adjusted prospectively, if appropriate.

Right-of-Use (RoU) property, plant & equipment

The Group as lessee

The Group assesses whether a contract is or contains a lease, at inception of the contract. The Group recognizes a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability with respect to all lease arrangements in which it is the lessee, except for

short-term leases (defined as leases with a lease term of 12 months or less) and leases of low value assets (such as printers, copiers and small office equipment). For these leases, the Group recognizes the lease payments as an operating expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease.

Right-of-use assets are depreciated over the shorter period of the lease term and the useful life of the underlying asset. If a lease transfers ownership of the underlying asset, or the cost of the right-of-use asset reflects that the Group expects to exercise a purchase option, the related right-of-use asset is depreciated over the useful life of the underlying asset. Rights to use land are amortized over the contractual period which can vary between 30 and 100 years, but is in most cases 50 years. The depreciation starts at the commencement date of the lease.

The right-of-use assets are presented as a separate line in the consolidated statement of financial position. The Group applies IAS 36 to determine whether a right-of-use asset is impaired.

Variable rents that do not depend on an index or rate are not included in the measurement of the lease liability and the right-of-use asset. The related payments are recognized as an expense in the period in which the event or condition that triggers those payments occurs. As a practical expedient, IFRS 16 permits a lessee not to separate non-lease components, and instead accounts for any lease and associated non-lease components as a single arrangement. The Group applies this practical expedient on contracts for company cars and industrial vehicles, where non-lease components such as maintenance and replacement of tires are not separated but included in the lease component.

Financial assets

The Group classifies its financial assets in the following categories: measured at amortized cost, at fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL) or at fair value through other comprehensive income (FVTOCI). The classification depends on the contractual characteristics of the financial assets and the business model under which they are held. Management determines the classification of its financial assets at initial recognition.

Financial assets at amortized cost

Financial assets are classified at amortized cost when the contract has the characteristics of a basic lending arrangement and they are held with the intention of collecting the contractual cash flows until their maturity. The Group's financial assets at amortized cost comprises, unless stated otherwise, trade and other receivables, bills of exchange received, short-term deposits and cash and cash equivalents in the balance sheet. They are measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment.

A financial asset (or, where applicable, a part of a financial asset or part of a group of similar financial assets) is primarily derecognized (i.e., removed from the Group's consolidated statement of financial position) when:

• the rights to receive cash flows from the asset have expired
• the Group has transferred its rights to receive cash flows from the asset or has assumed an

obligation to pay the received cash flows in full without material delay to a third party under a 'pass-through arrangement'; and either (a) the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of the asset, or (b) the Group has neither transferred nor retained substantially all the risks and rewards of the asset, but has transferred control of the asset.

When the Group has transferred its rights to receive cash flows from an asset or has entered into a passthrough arrangement, it evaluates if, and to what extend, it has retained the risks and rewards of ownership. When it has neither transferred nor retained substantially all of the risks and rewards of the asset, nor transferred control of the asset, the Group continues to recognize the transferred asset to the extend of its continuing involvement. in that case, the Group also recognizes an associated liability. The transferred asset and the associated liability are measured on a basis that reflects the rights and obligations that the Group has retained.

Continuing involvement that takes the form of a guarantee over the transferred asset is measured at the lower of the original carrying amount of the asset and the maximum amount of consideration that the Group could be required to repay.

Financial assets at fair value

Other debt instruments and all equity investments are measured at fair value. In principle, Bekaert will carry its main non-consolidated strategic equity investments at FVTOCI. Derivatives are categorized as at FVTPL unless they are designated and effective as hedges.

Bills of exchange received

Payment by means of bills of exchange (bank acceptance drafts) is a widespread practice in China. Bills of exchange received are either settled at maturity date, discounted before the maturity date or transferred to a creditor to settle a liability. Discounting is done either with or without recourse. With recourse means that the discounting bank can claim reimbursement of the amount paid in case the issuer defaults. When a bill is discounted with recourse, the amount received is not deducted from the outstanding bills of exchange received, but a liability is recognized in "current interest-bearing debt" until the maturity date of that bill.

There may be an exception when the bill of exchange with recourse, that is provided by a trust worthy financial institution, is being endorsed by a vendor, meaning the vendor upon acceptance takes over all the risks and rewards linked to that bill of exchange – in that case upon consideration and agreement on transfer of risks and rewards, trade receivables can be derecognized upon endorsement by the vendor.

Impairment of financial assets

Financial assets that are debt instruments, other than those measured at FVTPL, are tested for impairment using the expected credit loss model (ECL). The amount of expected credit losses is updated at each reporting date to reflect changes in credit risk since initial recognition of the respective financial instrument. When determining whether the credit risk of a financial asset has increased

significantly since initial recognition and when estimating ECLs, Bekaert considers reasonable and supportable information that is relevant and available without undue cost or effort. This includes both quantitative and qualitative information and analysis, based on the Group's historical experience and informed credit assessment and including forward-looking information. The Group always recognizes lifetime ECL for trade receivables.

At each reporting date, Bekaert measures the impairment loss for financial assets measured at amortized cost (e.g. trade receivables and bills of exchange received) as the present value of the expected cash shortfalls (discounted at the original effective interest rate). Amounts deemed uncollectible are written off against the corresponding allowance account at each balance sheet date. In assessing collective impairment, the Group uses historical information on the amount of loss incurred, and made an adjustment if current economic and credit conditions were such that the actual losses were likely to be greater or lesser than suggested by historical trends. Additions to and recoveries from the bad debt allowance account related to trade receivables are reported under "selling expenses" in the income statement.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realizable value. Cost is determined by the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. For processed inventories, cost means full cost including all direct and indirect production costs required to bring the inventory items to the stage of completion at the balance sheet date. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less the costs of completion and costs necessary to make the sale.

Share capital

When shares are repurchased, the amount of the consideration paid, including directly attributable costs, is recognized as a change in equity. Repurchased shares (treasury shares) are presented in the balance sheet as a deduction from equity. The result on the disposal of treasury shares sold or cancelled is recognized in retained earnings.

Provisions

Provisions are recognized in the balance sheet when the Group has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event, which is expected to result in an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits which can be reliably estimated. Each provision is based on the best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the balance sheet date. When appropriate, provisions are measured on a discounted basis.

Restructuring

A provision for restructuring is only recognized when the Group has approved a detailed and formal restructuring plan, and the restructuring has either commenced or has been announced publicly before the balance sheet date. Restructuring provisions only include the direct expenditure arising from the restructuring which is necessarily incurred on the

restructuring and is not associated with the ongoing activities of the entity.

Site remediation

A provision for site remediation in respect of contaminated land is recognized in accordance with the Group's published environmental policy and applicable legal requirements.

Claims

A provision for claims related to product warranty programs, or related various product quality claims is recognized in accordance with the Group's published policy.

Employee benefit obligations

The parent company and several of its subsidiaries have pension, death benefit and health care benefit plans covering a substantial part of their workforce.

Defined-benefit plans

In the income statement, current and past service cost, including gains or losses from settlements, are included in the operating result (EBIT), and the net interest on the net defined-benefit liability (asset) is included in interest expense, under interest on interest-bearing provisions. Pre-retirement pensions in Belgium and plans for medical care in the United States are also treated as defined-benefit plans.

Defined-contribution plans

By law, defined-contribution pension plans in Belgium are subject to minimum guaranteed rates of return. Before 2015, the defined-contribution plans in Belgium were basically accounted for as definedcontribution plans. New legislation dated December 2015 however triggered the qualification. As a consequence, the defined-contribution plans are reported as defined-benefit obligations, whereby as from year end 2016 an actuarial valuation was performed.

Share-based payment plans

The Group issues equity-settled and cash-settled share-based payments to certain employees. Equitysettled plans allow Group employees to acquire shares of NV Bekaert SA, and include stock option plans (SOP), performance share plans (PSP), personal shareholding requirement plans (PSR) and stock grants, all of which are operated in Belgium. Cash-settled plans entitle Group employees to receive payment of cash bonuses based on the price of the Bekaert share on the Euronext stock exchange, and include share appreciation rights (SAR) and performance share unit plans (PSU), all of which are operated outside Belgium.

Equity-settled share-based payments are recognized at fair value (excluding the effect of nonmarket-based vesting conditions) at the date of grant. The fair value determined at the grant date of the equity-settled share-based payments is expensed, with a corresponding increase in equity, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, based on the Group's estimate of the number of equity instruments granted that will eventually vest

and adjusted for the effect of non market-based vesting conditions.

Cash-settled share-based payments are recognized as liabilities over the vesting period at fair value, which is remeasured at each reporting date and at the date of settlement. Changes in fair value are recognized in the income statement over the vesting period, taking into account the number of units or rights expected to vest.

The Group uses binomial models or Monte Carlo simulations to determine the fair value of the sharebased payment plans.

Interest-bearing debt

Lease liabilities

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted by using the rate implicit in the lease. If this rate cannot be readily determined, the Group uses its incremental borrowing rate.

The Group remeasures the lease liability (and makes a corresponding adjustment to the related right-ofuse asset) whenever:

• The lease term has changed or there is a significant event or change in circumstances resulting in a change in assessment of exercise of a purchase option, in which case the lease liability is remeasured by discounting the revised lease payments using a revised discount rate.
• The lease payments change due to changes in an index or rate or a change in expected payment under a guaranteed residual value, in which cases the lease liability is remeasured by discounting the revised lease payments using an unchanged discount rate.
• A lease contract is modified and the lease modification is not accounted for as a separate lease, in which case the lease liability is remeasured based on the lease term of the modified lease by discounting the revised lease payments using a revised discount rate at the effective date of the modification.

Trade payables and other current liabilities

Trade payables and other current liabilities, except derivatives, are initially measured at cost, which is the fair value of the consideration payable, and subsequently carried at amortized cost. The Group recognizes a liability to pay a dividend when the distribution is authorized, and the distribution is no longer at the discretion of the Company.

Income taxes

In evaluating the potential income tax liabilities, the Group assumes that the tax authorities will examine amounts they have a right to examine and have full knowledge of all related information when making those examinations. The Group takes into account both the assessments, decisions and verdicts received from tax audits and other kinds of information sources as well as the potential sources of challenge from tax authorities. The Group recognizes a liability when the Group assesses it is not probable for the tax authorities to accept the position that the Group takes regarding the tax treatment in question. The Group measures the

income tax liability according to the most likely amount of the potential economic outflow. However, Bekaert continues to believe that its positions on all these audits are robust.

In assessing the recoverability of deferred tax assets, the Group relies on the forecast assumptions used elsewhere in the financial statements and in other management reports. Deferred tax on temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures is provided for, except where the Group is able to control the timing of the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary difference will not be reversed in the foreseeable future.

Derivatives, hedging and hedging reserves

The Group uses derivatives to hedge its exposure to foreign-exchange and interest-rate risks arising from operating, financing and investing activities. The net exposure of all subsidiaries is managed on a centralized basis by Group Treasury in accordance with the aims and principles laid down by general management. As a policy, the Group does not engage in speculative or leveraged transactions.

Derivatives are initially and subsequently measured and carried at fair value. The fair value of traded derivatives is equal to their market value. If no market value is available, the fair value is calculated using standard financial valuation models, based upon the relevant market rates at the reporting date.

The Group may apply hedge accounting in accordance with IFRS 9 to reduce income statement volatility. Depending on the nature of the hedged risk, a distinction is made between fair value hedges, cash flow hedges and hedges of a net investment in a foreign entity.

The Group uses derivatives that do not satisfy the hedge accounting criteria of IFRS 9 but provide effective economic hedges under the Group's risk management policies. Changes in the fair value of any such derivatives are recognized immediately in the income statement.

Derivatives embedded in non-derivative host contracts that are not financial assets are treated as separate derivatives when they meet the definition of a derivative, their risks and characteristics are not closely related to those of the host contract and the host contract is not measured at fair value through profit or loss. The Group identified such embedded derivatives in the virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA).

Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA)

The embedded derivative is a component of a financial instrument that modifies the cash flows of a host contract in a way similar to a standalone derivative according to a specified interest rate, index of prices or rates, credit rating or credit index, or other variable, provided in the case of a nonfinancial variable that the variable is not specific to a party to the contract. The valuation of the embedded derivative in the VPPA's is based on a valuation model using a Monte Carlo simulation with Geometric Brownian Motion simulating production output and power prices throughout the term of the VPPA. The valuation technique includes all material inputs that are consistent with the characteristics of the VPPA and that market participants would take

into account in setting a transaction price for the embedded derivative in an orderly market transaction. These VPPA contracts include the delivery of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) for which the valuation is included in the valuation model of the embedded derivative. The RECs received are not accounted for as individual financial assets as the Group applies the "own use" exemption.

2.4. Income statement items

Revenue recognition

The Group recognizes revenue mainly from the sale of products. Revenue is measured based on the consideration to which the Group expects to be entitled in a contract with a customer and excludes amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Group recognizes revenue from the sale of products when it transfers control over the corresponding product to a customer. Revenue from the sale of products is recognized at a point in time. Sales are recognized net of sales taxes and discounts. Interest is recognized on a time-proportional basis that reflects the effective yield on the asset. The Group recognizes revenue for a sales-based or usagebased royalty only when (or as) the later of the following events occurs: the subsequent sale or usage occurs; and the performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalties has been allocated has been satisfied. Revenues from synthetic ropes projects are recognized over time because its performance under those projects does not create an asset with an alternative use to the Group and the Group has the enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date. The group uses an input method in measuring progress of the project because there is a direct relationship between the Group Efforts and the transfer of the project to the customer. Royalties are recognized on an accrual basis in accordance with the terms of agreements and are linked to technology and management support. Dividends are recognized when the shareholder's right to receive payment is established.

2.5. Statement of comprehensive income and statement of changes in equity

The statement of comprehensive income presents an overview of all income and expenses recognized both in the income statement and in equity. In accordance with IAS 1 'Presentation of Financial Statements', an entity can elect to present either a single statement of comprehensive income or two statements, i.e. an income statement immediately followed by a comprehensive income statement. The Group elected to do the latter. A further consequence of presenting a statement of comprehensive income is that the content of the statement of changes in equity is confined to ownerrelated changes only.

2.6. Alternative performance measures

To analyze the financial performance of the Group, Bekaert consistently uses various non-GAAP metrics or Alternative Performance Measures (APMs) as defined in the European Securities and Markets

Authority's (ESMA) Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures. In accordance with these ESMA Guidelines, the definition and reason for use of each of the APMs as well as reconciliation tables are provided in the 'Alternative performance measures' section of the Financial Statements. The main APMs used in the Financial Statements relate to underlying performance measures.

Underlying performance measures

Operating income and expenses that are related to restructuring programs, impairment losses, the initial accounting for business combinations, business disposals, environmental provisions or other events and transactions that have a one-off effect are excluded from Underlying EBIT(DA) measures.

Restructuring programs mainly include lay-off costs, gains and losses on disposal, and impairment losses of assets involved in a shut-down, major reorganization or relocation of operations. When not related to restructuring programs, only impairment losses resulting from testing cash-generating units qualify as one-off effects.

One-off effects from business combinations mainly include: acquisition-related expenses, negative goodwill, gains and losses on step acquisition, and recycling of CTA on the interest previously held. One-off effects from business disposals include gains and losses on the sale of businesses that do not qualify as discontinued operations. These disposed businesses may consist of integral, or parts (disposal groups) of subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates.

Besides environmental provisions, other events or transactions that are not inherent to the business and have a one-off effect mainly include disasters and sales of investment property.

2.7. Miscellaneous

Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations

A non-current asset or disposal group is classified as held for sale if its carrying amount will be recovered principally through a sale transaction rather than through continuing use. This condition is regarded as met only when the sale is highly probable and the asset (or disposal group) is available for immediate sale in its present condition. A discontinued operation is a component of an entity which the entity has disposed of or which is classified as held for sale, which represents a separate major line of business or geographical area of operations and which can be distinguished operationally and for financial reporting purposes.

For a sale to be highly probable, the entity should be committed to a plan to sell the asset (or disposal group), an active program to locate a buyer and complete the plan should be initiated, and the asset (or disposal group) should be actively marketed at a price which is reasonable in relation to its current fair value, and the sale should be expected to be completed within one year from the date of classification. Assets classified as held for sale are measured at the lower of their carrying amount and fair value less costs necessary to make the sale. Any excess of the carrying amount over the fair value less costs to sell is included as an impairment loss.

3. Significant accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the Group's accounting policies, management is required to make judgments, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. These judgments, estimates and assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis.

3.1. Significant judgements in applying the entity's accounting policies

The following are the significant judgements made by management, apart from those involving estimations (see note 3.2. "Key sources of estimation uncertainty" below), that have a significant effect on the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements.

• Management concluded that the criteria for capitalization of development expenditure were met for several projects and capitalized a total of € 9.3 million in 2024 (2023: € 7.3 million). The research and development expenditure for which the criteria were not met, were recognized through profit or loss.
• When management incurs implementation and customization costs when entering into cloud computing arrangements, management makes judgments to determine which costs can be recognized as intangible asset. Management first assess if the arrangement provides a resource it can control. When making this judgment, it considers the IFRS Interpretation Committee (IFRIC) agenda decision of March 2019 on Customer's Right to Receive Access to the Supplier's Software Hosted on the Cloud. Thereafter, it assess which fees and implementation costs can be capitalized, Management considered the IFRS Interpretation Committee (IFRIC) agenda decision of April 2021 on the clarification of accounting in relation to these costs.
• Management makes judgments in defining the functional currency of Group entities based on economic substance of the transactions relevant to these entities. By default the functional currency is the one of the country in which the entity is operating. See note 7.8. "Subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates" for a comprehensive list of entities and their functional currency.
• Management assessed that it is controlling the Venezuelan subsidiaries. In spite of the political and monetary instability, management was able to keep the company operational and hence concluded that it is in control. The US dollar is the functional currency and as from May 2019, banks can act as intermediaries in foreign currency transactions through 'exchange tables', a measure that makes the exchange control that operated since 2003 and that gave the State a monopoly in currency management, more flexible.

At year-end 2024, the cumulative translation adjustments (CTA) amount to € -59.6 million, which – in case of loss of control – would be recycled to income statement. Apart from the CTA, the contribution of the Venezuelan operations to the consolidated accounts is immaterial.

• Deferred tax assets were recognized to the extent that it was probable that future taxable profits would be available, taking into account all evidence, both positive and negative. This assessment was done using prudent estimates based on the business plan for the entity concerned, typically using a five year time horizon. In some countries, deferred tax assets on capital losses, trade losses and tax credits were recognized to the extent of uncertain tax provisions recognized, in order to reflect that some tax audit adjustments would result in an adjustment of the amount of tax losses rather than in a tax cash-out for the entity concerned.
• As Belgium enacted the law of 19 December 2023 implementing a minimum taxation (at an effective minimum tax rate of 15%) for multinational groups as from 1 January 2024, NV Bekaert and its subsidiaries are in scope of the OECD Pillar 2 model rules. In May 2023, the IASB published amendments to IAS 12 that, provide a temporary exception to the requirements regarding deferred tax assets and liabilities related to legislation that is enacted to implement the OECD's Pillar 2 model rules, and introduce additional disclosure requirements. Bekaert has applied the exception to recognizing and disclosing information about deferred tax assets and liabilities related to Pillar 2 income taxes. Bekaert has performed a qualitative and quantitative preliminary assessment of the Group's potential exposure to Pillar 2 top-up taxes. Based on the 2024 countryby-country reporting, most of the jurisdictions are expected to be eligible for transitional safe harbor relief. Based on the actual assessment, a material impact of the Pillar 2 legislation is not to be expected for 2024.

3.2. Key sources of estimation uncertainty

The following are the key assumptions concerning the future, and the other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the end of the reporting period that have a risk of causing material adjustments to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year.

• Management performed the annual impairment test on the goodwill related to BBRG on the basis of the latest business plan. Following the realized turnaround performance of the business in 2020, headroom has become very solid, reducing the likelihood of an impairment loss (see note 6.2. 'Goodwill').
• Impairment analyses are based upon assumptions such as market evolution, margin

evolution and discount rates. The ability of an entity to pass on changes in raw material prices to its customers (either through contractual arrangements or through commercial negotiations) is included in the margin evolution assumption. Sensitivity analyses for reasonable changes in these assumptions are presented as part of note 6.2. 'Goodwill'.

• Given its global presence, Bekaert is exposed to tax risks in many jurisdictions. On the one hand, the application of tax law in the different jurisdictions can be complex and requires judgement to assess risk and estimate outcomes, which is a major source of uncertainty. On the other hand, tax authorities of the jurisdictions conduct regular tax audits that may reveal potential tax issues. As the tax audits can take many years to resolve, this further adds to the uncertainty. While the outcome of such tax audits is not certain, Bekaert has considered the merits of its filing positions of the matters subject to each tax audit in an overall evaluation of potential tax liabilities, and concludes that the Group has adequate liabilities recorded in its consolidated financial statements for exposures on these matters. Accordingly, Bekaert considers it unlikely that potential tax exposures over and above the amounts currently recorded as liabilities in the consolidated financial statements will be material to its financial condition. Both the timing and the position taken by the tax authorities in the different jurisdictions give rise to uncertainty and can result in an adjustment to the carrying amounts of income tax payable related to uncertain tax positions within the next financial year. At year-end 2024 Bekaert has uncertain tax positions recognized as income taxes payable amounting to € 42.6 million (2023: € 42.7 million). See note 6.21. 'Tax positions'.

3.3. Impact of macro-economic environment and climate

Impact of the macroeconomic environment

The evolution in the macroeconomic environment has affected businesses all over the world. The Group has identified the risks linked to these evolutions and has implemented mitigating actions, as described in the Corporate Governance Statements - chapter "Control and ERM" of this report.

Increasing risks arising from demand impact and inflationary cost pressure from economic crises as well as impacts on discount rates

Impactful demand changes can affect sectors that are relevant to Bekaert. A crisis, recession or changing demand trends can lead to a demand decline driven by weak consumer confidence and postponed investments. The resulting upstream and downstream overcapacity can lead to price erosion across the supply chain. To mitigate these risks, Bekaert continues the re-positioning of its businesses towards segments with higher value propositions that are much less impacted by cyclicality. In addition, the Group has taken necessary measures to remain cost-competitive, to flex costs, and to pass on cost inflation.

Although some of the growth platforms have seen delays in their growth, profitability in these

segments remains strong thanks to measures to flex costs and mitigate volume reductions as well as footprint rationalizations being reflected in the 2024 financials. In addition, this slow-down was partially offset by other subsegments with higher than average margins within the core platforms that are growing faster, for example the energy and utilities segments in the Steel Wire Solutions business unit.

Bekaert delivered a resilient financial performance in 2024, with stable profit margins (EBITu margin at 8.8%) and robust cash flows (Free Cash Flow of € 193 million). Despite lower volumes and weaker conditions in many of its end markets, the business continues to benefit from the successful execution of Bekaert's strategy of portfolio rationalization, pricing discipline, improving the mix of higher margin products, and driving further cost efficiencies. (see note 5.2. Operating result (EBIT) by function and press release related to the 2024 Full Year financial statements).

In the valuation of the Group's defined-benefit plans, the principal actuarial assumptions are also influenced by the macroeconomic evolution. The details of those valuations are included in note 6.16. 'Employee benefit obligations'. Changes recognized in equity amounted in 2024 to € 20.5 million and were driven by € 9.5 million gain on plan assets reflecting positive asset return and € 11.0 million gains in defined benefit obligation. The latter can be broken down into € 16.2 million gain due to changes in financial assumptions reflecting increased discount rates, € 1.2 million loss due to changes in demographic assumptions and € 3.9 million loss in liabilities due to experience adjustments.

Impact of climate changes and environmental footprint

In order to further support the market and technology positioning in green energy markets, Bekaert is building key positions in each specific business ecosystem. For example, our collaboration with major tire companies to increase the use of recycled steel that contributes to circular economy, our participation in technology-driven consortia such as Hydrogen Europe or our on-going collaborations with key mooring and lifting equipment suppliers to revolutionize rope inspection which drives significant benefits such as longer operational safety, extended lifetime of ropes, increased productivity and sustainability.

The Group has also signed Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (see note 7.3. Financial risk management and financial instruments) in Romania and installed solar capacity on the roofs of several Chinese plants, to help reduce and offset its carbon greenhouse emissions.

The Group also invested in capital expenditure in 2024 supporting environmental sustainable activities (see note 6.3. Property, plant and equipment as well as the chapter "EU Taxonomy Key Performance Indicators" in the Environmental Statements). The Group doesn't expect that climate change will impact the valuation or useful life of current fixed assets.

4. Segment reporting

Transforming steel wire and applying unique coating technologies form our core business. Depending on our customers' requirements, we draw wire in different diameters and strengths, even as thin as ultrafine fibers of one micron. We group the wires into cords, ropes and strands, weave or knit them into fabric, or process them into an end product. The coatings we apply reduce friction, improve corrosion resistance, or enhance adhesion with other materials. We also develop products and solutions that are made of other metals and materials. This is part of our strategy to drive creativity beyond steel.

Bekaert uses a business segmentation to evaluate the nature and financial performance of the business as a whole, in line with the way financial performance is reported to the chief operating decision maker (Bekaert Group Executive (BGE)). The Group's business units (BU) are characterized by BU-specific product and market profiles, industry trends, cost drivers, and technology needs tailored to specific industry requirements. More information on the segments can be found in the part "About us" of this report.

The following four business units are presented:

• 1. Rubber Reinforcement (RR): 43% of consolidated third party sales (2023: 43%)
• 1. Steel Wire Solutions (SWS): 27% of consolidated third party sales (2023: 27%)
• 1. Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG): 16% of consolidated third party sales (2023: 14%)
• 1. Specialty Businesses (SB): 14% of consolidated third party sales (2023: 16%)

No segments have been aggregated.

4.1. Key data by reporting segment

Capital employed elements (intangible assets, goodwill, property, plant and equipment, RoU property, plant and equipment and the elements of the operating working capital) are allocated to the various segments. All other assets and liabilities are reported as unallocated assets or liabilities. "Group" mainly consists of the functional units Innovation & Technology, Engineering and unallocated expenses for group management and services; it does not constitute a reportable segment in itself. Any sales between segments are transacted at prices which reflect the arm's length principle. Intersegment mainly includes eliminations of receivables and payables, of sales and of margin on transfers of inventory items and of PP&E and related adjustments to depreciation and amortization.

No other material reporting items then the ones mentioned below are provided to the chief operating decision maker.

2023
in thousands of €	Rubber Reinforcement	Steel Wire Solutions	BBRG	Specialty Businesses		Group Intersegment	Consolidated
Consolidated third party sales	1 881 453	1 168 645	588 625	677 171	11 997	—	4 327 892
Consolidated sales	1 904 868	1 197 893	590 204	690 272	119 677	-175 023	4 327 892
Operating result (EBIT)	155 546	74 954	72 405	103 939	-70 236	-2 196	334 412
EBIT - Underlying	183 591	90 261	72 770	111 941	-68 038	-2 196	388 328
Depreciation and amortization ¹	88 846	34 494	26 698	24 597	13 100	-9 804	177 932
Impairment losses	4 764	3 541	—	2 640	-131	—	10 814
EBITDA	249 156	112 990	99 103	131 176	-57 267	-12 001	523 157
Segment assets	1 332 908	605 057	634 263	462 622	-5 701	-129 721	2 899 428
Unallocated assets							1 181 796
Total assets							4 081 224
Segment liabilities	302 430	204 519	121 813	101 344	115 922	-61 475	784 554
Unallocated liabilities							1 130 641
Total liabilities							1 915 195
Capital employed	1 030 478	400 538	512 450	361 278	-121 623	-68 247	2 114 874
Weighted average capital employed	1 077 321	414 446	500 503	344 364	-141 818	-66 218	2 128 598
Return on weighted average capital employed (ROCE)	14.4%	18.1%	14.5%	30.2%	—	—	15.7%
Capital expenditure – PP&E	81 856	33 125	37 084	40 457	8 292	-12 862	187 950
Capital expenditure – intangible assets	731	127	5 622	35	12 898	-662	18 750
Share in the results of joint ventures and associates	-4 026	50 660	—	—	-11	—	46 623
Investments in joint ventures and associates	51 894	171 729	—	—	—	—	223 623
Number of employees (year-end) ²	10 378	4 126	2 417	2 098	1 314	—	20 332

in thousands of €	Rubber Reinforcement	Steel Wire Solutions	BBRG	Specialty Businesses		Group Intersegment	Consolidated
Consolidated third party sales	1 703 011	1 067 530	552 245	629 939	5 090	—	3 957 814
Consolidated sales	1 725 858	1 095 538	555 232	638 036	95 597	-152 448	3 957 814
Operating result (EBIT)	132 143	110 328	41 804	72 925	-61 899	877	296 178
EBIT - Underlying	149 942	113 768	49 929	87 912	-54 973	1 577	348 156
Depreciation and amortization ¹	86 113	27 958	30 278	2 592	14 545	-10 074	151 411
Impairment losses	-165	1 444	3 016	5 483	—	—	9 779
EBITDA	218 091	139 730	75 098	81 000	-47 354	-9 197	457 368
Segment assets	1 378 076	634 217	688 978	500 412	-13 608	-114 421	3 073 654
Unallocated assets							1 088 233
Total assets							4 161 887
Segment liabilities	314 515	228 406	115 613	105 329	99 073	-46 815	816 120
Unallocated liabilities							1 033 999
Total liabilities							1 850 119
Capital employed	1 063 562	405 811	573 365	395 083	-112 681	-67 605	2 257 534
Weighted average capital employed	1 047 368	403 303	550 798	378 292	-115 744	-64 724	2 199 293
Return on weighted average capital employed (ROCE)	12.6%	27.4%	7.6%	19.3%	—	—	13.5%
Capital expenditure – PP&E	84 009	34 776	23 083	46 259	6 491	-8 450	186 168
Capital expenditure – intangible assets	4 922	754	4 171	6 807	9 527	-517	25 664
Share in the results of joint ventures and associates	1 218	47 581	—	—	—	—	48 799
Investments in joint ventures and associates	43 568	145 052	—	—	—	—	188 620
Number of employees (year-end) ²	10 023	3 877	2 437	2 030	1 276	—	19 643

¹ Depreciation and amortization included write-downs / (reversals of write-downs) on inventories and trade receivables.

² Number of employees: full-time equivalents on Bekaert payroll (excluding contingent workers) in consolidated entities.

4.2. Revenue by country

The table below shows the relative importance of Belgium (i.e. the country of domicile), China, India, the USA and Slovakia for Bekaert in terms of sales and selected non-current assets (i.e. intangible assets; goodwill; property, plant and equipment; RoU property, plant and equipment; investments in joint ventures and associates).

in thousands of €	2023	% of total	2024	% of total
Consolidated third party sales
from Belgium	413 693	9%	420 886	11%
from China	823 291	19%	752 946	19%
from India	204 581	5%	194 300	5%
from USA	866 132	20%	746 116	19%
from Slovakia	425 590	10%	381 840	9%
from other countries	1 594 606	37%	1 461 726	37%
Total third party consolidated sales	4 327 892	100%	3 957 814	100%
Selected non-current assets
in Belgium	155 829	9%	247 792	14%
in China	274 478	16%	277 359	15%
in India	59 613	4%	71 753	4%
in USA	166 253	10%	177 997	10%
in Slovakia	134 264	8%	136 139	8%
in other countries	906 901	53%	881 979	49%
Total selected non-current assets	1 697 336	100%	1 793 018	100%

Bekaert's top-5 customers together represented 21% (2023: 23%) of the Group's total consolidated sales, while the next 5 customers represented another 6% (2023: 6%) of the Group's total consolidated sales. No individual customer contributed 10% to consolidated sales.

5. Income statement items

5.1. Net sales

The Group recognizes sales from the following sources: delivery of products and, to a lesser extent, of services and projects. Bekaert assessed that the delivery of products represents the main performance obligation. The Group recognizes sales at a point in time when it transfers control over a product to a customer. Customers obtain control when the products are delivered (based on the related inco terms in place). The amount of sales recognized is adjusted for variable compensation such as volume discounts. No adjustment is made for returns nor for warranty as the impact is deemed immaterial based on historical information. The group recognizes the revenue of projects over time, using an input method in measuring the progress of the project. For 2024 the revenues of projects are immaterial compared to the total sales number.

Disaggregating sales by timing of sales recognition, i.e. at a point in time vs over time (as is customary for engineering activities) does not add much value, as sales of machines to third parties contribute very little to total sales.

in thousands of €	2023	% of total	2024	% of total
Sales of products	4 323 497	99.9 %	3 956 894	100.0 %
Sales of machines by engineering	4 181	0.1 %	910	— %
Other sales	213	— %	9	— %
Net sales	4 327 892	100.0 %	3 957 814	100.0 %

In the following table, net sales is disaggregated by industry including a reconciliation of the net sales by industry with the Group's operating segments (see note 4.1. 'Key data by reporting segment¹).

2023¹
-------

in thousands of €	RR	SWS	BBRG	SB	Group	Consolidated
Industry
Tire & Automotive	1 879 494	122 952	9 445	36 188	—	2 048 079
Energy & Utilities	—	274 155	115 142	31 889	—	421 186
Construction	—	248 533	77 383	408 441	—	734 357
Consumer Goods	—	79 871	—	3 145	—	83 016
Agriculture	—	238 751	34 491	—	—	273 242
Equipment	1 959	94 700	153 168	106 585	11 997	368 409
Basic Materials	—	109 683	198 997	90 923	—	399 603
Total	1 881 453	1 168 645	588 626	677 171	11 997	4 327 892

2024¹

in thousands of €	RR	SWS	BBRG	SB	Group	Consolidated
Industry
Tire & Automotive	1 698 691	162 652	14 734	38 011	—	1 914 088
Energy & Utilities	—	293 789	130 816	25 105	—	449 710
Construction	—	206 155	70 047	399 850	—	676 052
Consumer Goods	—	86 001	—	3 831	—	89 832
Agriculture	—	180 636	41 122	—	—	221 758
Equipment	—	57 909	129 286	99 527	5 090	291 812
Basic Materials	4 320	80 388	166 240	63 614	—	314 562
Total	1 703 011	1 067 530	552 245	629 938	5 090	3 957 814

¹RR = Rubber Reinforcement; SWS = Steel Wire Solutions; BBRG = Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group; SB = Specialty Businesses

5.2. Operating result (EBIT) by function

Sales and gross profit

in thousands of €	2023	2024	variance (%)
Sales	4 327 892	3 957 814	-8.6%
Cost of sales	-3 623 289	-3 302 558	-8.9%
Gross profit	704 602	655 256	-7.0%
Gross profit in % of sales	16.3%	16.6%

Bekaert achieved consolidated sales of € 3.96 billion in 2024, a decrease of -8.6% compared to 2023, driven primarily by the negative impact from passed-on raw materials and input costs, lower volumes, declined pricemix effects and an unfavorable impact from exchange rate movements. The organic sales decrease (-8.6%) was driven by the negative impact from the passed-on cost inflation (-3.9%), decreased volumes (-3.5%) and declined price-mix effects (-1.2%). The currency movements were -0.7% negative (mainly related to movements in Chinese renminbi). The acquisition of Bexco NV results in a positive impact, lowering the sales decrease with 0.8%.

Gross profit of the Group decreased by € 49.3 million in absolute terms (-7.0%), but the gross profit margin on sales increased to 16.6% (2023: 16.3%). The decrease was mainly imposed by passed-on energy prices, negative changes in pricing and higher competition in key markets.

Overheads

in thousands of €	2023	2024	variance (%)
Selling expenses	-159 907	-158 521	-0.9%
Administrative expenses	-158 034	-150 878	-4.5%
Research and development expenses	-56 587	-56 670	0.1%
Total	-374 527	-366 070	-2.3%

The overhead expenses decreased by € 8.6 million to € 366.1 million (9.3% on sales). The decrease in absolute value of the admin expenses (€ 151 million in 2024; € 158.0 million in 2023) was mainly linked to the decrease of the labor, consultancy and IT costs, partially offset with an increase of the administrative one-offs costs. There was a positive foreign exchange impact of € 1.1 million (mainly related to positive exchange effects in Chinese renminbi). The decrease of the overhead expenses is partially offset with the overhead costs of the new acquired company, Bexco NV (€ 4.0 million). In 2024, selling expenses included bad debt allowances recognized (excluding one-offs) for € -4.1 million (2023: € -2.0 million) and reversal of bad debt allowances (excluding one-offs) for amounts used and not used for € 4.1 million (2023: € 5.1 million).

Other operating revenues

in thousands of €	2023	2024	variance
Royalties received	14 651	12 990	-1 662
Gains on disposal of PP&E and intangible assets	740	6 508	5 768
Tax rebates	—	—	—
Government grants	1 569	3 333	1 764
Compensations received for claims	2 019	1 261	-758
Restructuring	4 456	1 062	-3 394
Environmental	—	60	60
Gains on business disposals (portion sold)	5 958	—	-5 958
Other revenues	5 758	4 274	-1 484
Total	35 151	29 487	-5 664

The royalty income decreased by -11.3% due to lower sales. Government grants mainly related to subsidies in China. There are no indications that the conditions attached to those grants will not be complied with in the future and therefore it is not expected that subsidies may have to be refunded.

In 2024, the gain on the disposal of PP&E and intangible assets contained the revenues from the sale of assets not included in restructuring programs, primarily in Belgium.

Other operating expenses

in thousands of €	2023	2024	variance
Royalties paid	-942	-834	108
Losses on disposal of PP&E and intangible assets	-1 446	-1 617	-171
Amortization of intangible assets	-1 500	-1 500	—
Bank charges	-2 279	-2 227	52
Tax related expenses (other than income taxes)	-3 823	584	4 408
Impairment losses	-320	-677	-357
Restructuring	-1 573	-6 453	-4 880
Environmental	-3 273	-5 664	-2 391
Losses on business disposals	-9 325	—	9 325
Other expenses	-6 333	-4 108	2 225
Total	-30 814	-22 496	8 318

In 2024, "Restructuring - revenues" mainly related to restructuring in Indonesia and closure of Figline plant (Italy). "Restructuring - expenses" on the other hand mainly included part of the cost related to the restructuring program in the UK and plant closure in Italy.

In 2023, "Restructuring - revenues" mainly consisted of the gain from the closure of Figline (Italy) and the reversal of the provision of a claim for customs and VAT in Lonand (India). "Restructuring - expenses" on the other hand included part of the cost (lay-off costs) related to restructuring programs and plant closures.

The 2023 loss of € -2.1 million (gain of € 5.9 million and CTA loss of € -8.1 million) on business disposals was related to the sale of the Steel Wire Solution businesses in Chile and Peru to the partners. There was also the sale of Agro-Bekaert Colombia SAS and Agro-Bekaert Springs which generated a loss of € -1.3 million.

The environmental costs in 2024 and 2023 are mainly related to environmental provisions for the closure of the Figline plant (Italy).

The following tables reconcile reported and underlying results and present an analysis of one-off items by category (as defined in note 2.6. 'Alternative performance measures'), operating segment and income statement line item.

EBIT Reported and Underlying		2023			2024
in thousands of €	reported	of which underlying	of which one offs	reported	of which underlying	of which one offs
Sales	4 327 892	4 327 892	—	3 957 814	3 957 814	—
Cost of sales	-3 623 289	-3 582 853	-40 437	-3 302 558	-3 274 039	-28 518
Gross profit	704 602	745 039	-40 437	655 256	683 775	-28 518
Selling expenses	-159 907	-157 076	-2 831	-158 521	-157 427	-1 094
Administrative expenses	-158 034	-152 709	-5 325	-150 878	-142 601	-8 277
Research and development expenses	-56 587	-55 375	-1 212	-56 670	-53 409	-3 262
Other operating revenues	35 151	24 663	10 488	29 487	28 177	1 310
Other operating expenses	-30 814	-16 214	-14 600	-22 496	-10 360	-12 136
Operating result (EBIT)	334 412	388 328	-53 917	296 178	348 156	-51 978

One-off items 2023

	Cost of	Selling	Administrative		Other operating	Other operating
in thousands of €	Sales	expenses	expenses	R&D	revenues	expenses	Total
Restructuring programs by segment
Rubber Reinforcement 1	-23 478	-853	-754	-307	1 629	-973	-24 736
Steel Wire Solutions 2	-10 597	-736	-145	—	—	-106	-11 584
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG) 3	128	-490	—	—	-1	-2	-365
Specialty Businesses 4	-5 993	-752	—	-904	2	-327	-7 974
Group 5	-160	—	-2 523	—	2 825	-165	-22
Total restructuring programs	-40 100	-2 831	-3 422	-1 212	4 456	-1 573	-44 682
Business disposals
Steel Wire Solutions 6	—	—	—	—	5 958	-9 325	-3 368
Total business disposals	—	—	—	—	5 958	-9 325	-3 368
Environmental provisions/(reversals of provisions)
Rubber Reinforcement 1	—	—	—	—	—	-3 000	-3 000
Group	—	—	—	—	—	-273	-273
Total environmental provisions/ (reversals)	—	—	—	—	—	-3 273	-3 273
Other events and transactions
Rubber Reinforcement 7	-310	—	—	—	—	—	-310
Steel Wire Solutions 8	—	—	—	—	74	-429	-355
Specialty Businesses	-27	—	—	—	—	—	-27
Group 9	—	—	-1 903	—	—	—	-1 903
Total other events and transactions	-337	—	-1 903	—	74	-429	-2 595
Total	-40 437	-2 831	-5 325	-1 212	10 488	-14 600	-53 917

¹ Related mainly to closure and lay-off costs in China, lay-off costs in Indonesia and the building remediation project in Rome (US); environmental provisions related to the closure of the Figline plant (Italy).

² Related mainly to closure costs in Indonesia and lay-off costs in Belgium and China.

³ Related to the restructuring in the UK and the closure of the plant in Germany.

⁴ Related mainly to lay-off costs in the Netherlands and restructuring in China.

5 Related mainly to the reversal of a customs/VAT provision in India and lay-off costs in China and Belgium.

6 Related to the sale of the Steel Wire businesses in Chile and Peru and the sale of Agro-Bekaert Colombia SAS and Agro - Bekaert Springs, SL.

7 Related to the plant in Russia.

8 Related to the liquidation of Bekaert Shah Alam Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.

9 Acquisition-related expenses.

One-off items 2024

	Cost of Sales	Selling expenses	Administrative expenses	R&D	Other operating revenues	Other operating expenses	Total
in thousands of € Restructuring programs by segment
Rubber Reinforcement 1	-8 010	541	-1 284	-2 019	991	-2 786	-12 566
Steel Wire Solutions 2	-2 954	-357	-766	—	767	-130	-3 440
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG) 3	-4 374	-281	-504	—	—	-2 966	-8 125
Specialty Businesses 4	-12 816	-869	-527	-306	—	-471	-14 988
Group 5	-366	-127	-2 311	-938	4	-100	-3 837
Intersegment	—	—	—	—	-700	—	-700
Total restructuring programs	-28 518	-1 094	-5 392	-3 262	1 062	-6 453	-43 657
Environmental provisions/(reversals of provisions)
Rubber Reinforcement 6	—	—	—	—	—	-5 232	-5 232
Group	—	—	—	—	60	-432	-371
Total environmental provisions/ (reversals)	—	—	—	—	60	-5 664	-5 604
Other events and transactions
Group 7	—	—	-2 886	—	188	-20	-2 717
Total other events and transactions	—	—	-2 886	—	188	-20	-2 717
Total	-28 518	-1 094	-8 277	-3 262	1 310	-12 136	-51 978

¹ Related mainly to the closure of the Figline plant (Italy), to closure and lay-off costs in China and lay-off costs in Belgium.

² Related mainly to impairment losses in China, restructuring in Indonesia and lay-off costs in Latin-America and Belgium. ³ Related to the restructuring in UK.

⁴ Related mainly to restructuring in China, the Netherlands and Belgium.

5 Related mainly to lay-off costs in China and Belgium.

6 Related to the closure of the Figline plant (Italy).

7 Acquisition-related administrative expenses.

5.3. Operating result (EBIT) by nature

The table below provides information on the major items contributing to the operating result (EBIT), categorized by nature.

in thousands of €	2023	% on sales	2024	% on sales
Sales	4 327 892	100%	3 957 814	100%
Other operating revenues	35 151	—	29 487	—
Total operating revenues	4 363 043	—	3 987 302	—
Own construction of PP&E	68 033	1.6%	76 194	1.9%
Raw materials	-1 604 328	-37.1%	-1 434 756	-36.3%
Semi-finished products and goods for resale	-185 499	-4.3%	-187 883	-4.7%
Change in work-in-progress and finished goods	-97 568	-2.3%	7 466	0.2%
Staff costs	-858 594	-19.8%	-871 625	-22.0%
Depreciation and amortization	-177 924	-4.1%	-151 412	-3.8%
Impairment losses	-10 814	-0.2%	-9 779	-0.2%
Transport and handling of finished goods	-193 878	-4.5%	-208 561	-5.3%
Consumables and spare parts	-295 661	-6.8%	-277 388	-7.0%
Utilities	-314 937	-7.3%	-268 285	-6.8%
Maintenance and repairs	-62 317	-1.4%	-61 890	-1.6%
Lease and related expenses	-40 747	-0.9%	-43 662	-1.1%
Commissions in selling expenses	-4 287	-0.1%	-3 839	-0.1%
Export VAT and export customs duty	-12 452	-0.3%	-15 533	-0.4%
ICT costs	-63 096	-1.5%	-60 215	-1.5%
Advertising and sales promotion	-7 715	-0.2%	-7 195	-0.2%
Travel, restaurant & hotel	-18 383	-0.4%	-17 134	-0.4%
Consulting and other fees	-39 637	-0.9%	-39 231	-1.0%
Office supplies and equipment	-9 591	-0.2%	-6 548	-0.2%
Venture capital funds R&D	—	—	—	—
Temporary or external labor	-33 025	-0.8%	-29 223	-0.7%
Insurance expenses	-14 394	-0.3%	-14 544	-0.4%
Miscellaneous	-51 816	-1.2%	-66 081	-1.7%
Total operating expenses	-4 028 631	-93.1%	-3 691 123	-93.3%
Operating result (EBIT)	334 412	7.7%	296 178	7.5%

Due to the decreased wire rod prices and lower purchased quantities, the total raw material costs have decreased in 2024 compared to 2023.

The impairment losses of 2024 mainly related to the impairment of PP&E in China, United Kingdom and The Netherlands. For 2023 the losses are related to impairment of PP&E in China and Indonesia. The depreciation and amortization included write-downs / (reversals of write-downs) on inventories and trade receivables.

5.4. Interest income and expense

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Interest income on financial assets not measured at FVTPL 12 983	18 299
Interest income 12 983	18 299
Interest expense on interest-bearing debt not measured at FVTPL -37 386	-33 476
Other debt-related interest expense -1 109	-983
Debt-related interest expense -38 495	-34 459
Interest element of discounted provisions -1 596	-3 539
Interest expense -40 092	-37 998
Total -27 108	-19 699

The interest income increased compared to the revenues of 2023, due to the increased interest rates and higher cash position of the group The interest expenses decreased compared to the costs of 2023, due to a lower outstanding debt position of the group.

Interest expense on interest-bearing debt, not classified as at fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL), relates to all debt instruments of the Group, other than interest-rate risk mitigating derivatives entered into as economic hedges.

The interest element of discounted provisions related for € -3.5 million (2023: € -1.6 million) to defined-benefit liabilities (see note 6.16. 'Employee benefit obligations'). There are no interest costs in 2024 related to other provisions (2023: nil) (see note 6.17. 'Provisions').

5.5. Other financial income and expenses

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Value adjustments to derivatives -3 620	8 346
Exchange results on hedged items -7 475	-914
Net impact of derivatives and hedged items -11 095	7 432
Other exchange results -14 814	-11 326
Gains and losses on disposal of financial assets —	—
Dividends from non-consolidated equity investments 908	490
Bank charges and taxes on financial transactions -16 501	-14 379
Impairments of other receivables 304	11
Other 2 318	-1 085
Total -38 879	-18 857

Value adjustments include changes in the fair value of all derivatives, other than those designated as cash flow hedges. Exchange results on hedged items also relate to economic hedges only. The net impact of derivatives and hedged items presented here does not include any impacts recognized in other income statement elements, such as interest expense, cost of sales or other operating revenues and expenses.

In 2024 value adjustments to derivatives included a fair value loss of € -5.9 million, offset with gain related to Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) of € 14.2 million. In 2023 value adjustments to derivatives included a fair value loss of € 8.3 million, however partially offset with a gain of € 4.7 million, related to a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA). For more details on the impact of derivatives and hedged items, see note 7.3. Financial risk management and financial derivatives'.

Other exchange results in 2024 amounted to € -11.3 million and were mainly related to the devaluation of the Turkish lira, the Indian rupee, the Brazilian real and Venezuelan bolívar, resulting in unrealized and realized FX results on working capital items and intercompany loans. The bank charges and taxes on financial transactions include charges linked to the factoring programs (€ 14.8 million).

All dividends from non-consolidated equity investments related to interests still held at reporting date as no shares were sold during the year.

5.6. Income taxes

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Current income taxes - current year	-72 594	-71 752
Current income taxes - prior periods	-8 062	1 036
Deferred taxes - due to changes in temporary differences	-20 924	-16 464
Deferred taxes - due to changes in tax rates	-1 079	-337
Deferred taxes - adjustments to tax losses of prior periods	-891	-2 920
Deferred taxes - utilization of deferred tax assets not previously recognized	41 383	27 582
Total tax expense	-62 167	-62 856

Relationship between tax expense and accounting profit

In the table below, accounting profit is defined as the result before taxes.

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Result before taxes	268 424	257 622
Tax expense at the theoretical domestic rates applicable to results of taxable entities in the countries concerned	-67 429	-64 292
Theoretical tax rate 1	-25.1 %	-25.0%
Tax effect of:
Non-deductible items	-8 848	-13 072
Other tax rates, tax credits and special tax regimes 2	7 107	15 129
Non-recognition of deferred tax assets 3	-11 518	-11 673
Utilization or recognition of deferred tax assets not previously recognized 4	41 383	27 582
Deferred tax due to change in tax rates	-1 079	-337
Tax relating to prior periods 5	-8 953	-1 884
Exempted income	—	3 552
Withholding taxes on dividends, royalties, interests & services	-7 695	-13 409
Other	-5 135	-4 452
Total tax expense	-62 167	-62 856
Effective tax rate	-23.2%	-24.4%

1 The theoretical tax rate is computed as a weighted average taking into account the results before taxes in different countries at different rates.

2 In 2024, the special tax regimes and tax credits mainly related to tax incentives in Belgium, similar as in 2023.

3 In 2024, the non-recognition of deferred tax assets mainly related to non-recognition of deferred tax assets above the recoverability assessment in Belgium and the non-recognition in plants of which the closure was announced, while in 2023, it mainly related to the non-recognition of deferred tax assets related to losses in plants in Asia of which the closure was announced.

4 In 2024, the movement was mainly triggered by the recognition in China and Canada of deferred tax assets previously not recognized as well as by the usage of losses carried forward.

5 In 2024, the prior year tax adjustments related to miscellaneous countries, while in 2023 the prior year tax adjustments mainly related to the settlement of a tax audit in China.

5.7. Share in the results of joint ventures and associates

In 2024, the share in the result of joint ventures and associates reflected the performance increase of the Rubber Reinforcement business in Brazil compared to the weak performance in 2023, in part offset by the slight drop in performance of the Steel Wire Solutions business in Brazil compared to the strong performance in 2023. The overall increase in performance was made in spite of the decrease in value of the Brazilian real against the euro (average rate decreased by 7,9% from 2023 to 2024). This decrease in YTD average rate 2024 versus 2023 was mainly caused by a significant decrease in the course of 2024, while in 2023, the rate remained more or less stable.

Additional information relating to the Brazilian joint ventures is provided under note 6.5. 'Investments in joint ventures and associates'.

in thousands of €		2023	2024
Joint ventures
Agro-Bekaert Colombia SAS	Colombia	-263	—
Agro-Bekaert Springs, SL	Spain	-11	—
Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	Brazil	50 885	47 751
BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	Brazil	-4 026	1 218
Servicios Ideal AGF Inttegra Cía Ltda	Ecuador	37	-170
Total		46 623	48 799

5.8. Earnings per share

2023		Number
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)		53 559 847
Dilution effect of share-based payment arrangements		330 248
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)		53 890 095
in thousands of €	Basic	Diluted
Result for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders	254 619	254 619
Earnings	254 619	254 619
Earnings per share (in €)	4.754	4.725
2024		Number
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (basic)		52 403 989
Dilution effect of share-based payment arrangements		127 778
Weighted average number of ordinary shares (diluted)		52 531 767
in thousands of €	Basic	Diluted
Result for the period attributable to ordinary shareholders	238 904	238 904
Earnings	238 904	238 904
Earnings per share (in €)	4.559	4.548

Earnings per share (EPS) is the amount of post-tax profit attributable to each share. Basic EPS is calculated as the result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year. Diluted EPS reflects any commitments of the Group to issue shares in the future. These comprise shares to be issued for equity-settled share-based payment plans (subscription rights, options, performance shares and matching shares, see note 6.13. 'Ordinary shares, treasury shares and equitysettled share-based payments'). Subscription rights, options and other share-based payment arrangements are only dilutive to the extent that their issue price is lower than the average closing price of the period, in which the issue price includes the fair value of any services to be rendered during the remainder of the vesting period. Contingently issuable shares (e.g. performance shares) are only dilutive if the conditions are satisfied at the balance sheet date. The dilution effect of share-based payment arrangements is limited to the weighted average number of shares to be used in the denominator of the EPS ratio; there is no effect on the earnings to be used in the numerator of the EPS ratio.

To calculate the dilution impact, it is assumed that all dilutive potential shares are issued at the beginning of the period, or, if the instruments were granted during the period, at the grant date. This resulted in a total dilution effect of € -0.01 per share (2023: € -0.03).

The average closing price during 2024 was € 40.30 per share (2023: € 41.56 per share). There are no antidilutive instruments for the period presented.

6. Balance sheet items

6.1. Intangible assets

Cost	Licenses,
in thousands of €	patents & similar rights	Computer software	Commercial assets	Other	Total
As at 1 January 2023	27 163	108 282	56 599	16 380	208 424
Expenditure	—	11 436	—	7 315	18 750
Disposals and retirements	-156	-809	—	—	-964
Transfers ¹	—	301	—	—	301
New consolidations	520	—	—	—	520
Deconsolidations	—	-4 883	—	-310	-5 192
Exchange gains and losses (-)	56	-1 076	520	-1 196	-1 696
As at 31 December 2023	27 584	113 251	57 119	22 189	220 143
As at 1 January 2024	27 584	113 251	57 119	22 189	220 143
Expenditure	117	16 128	—	9 419	25 664
Disposals and retirements	—	-275	—	—	-275
Transfers ¹	33	1 674	-862	-646	199
New consolidations	10 425	—	1 125	—	11 550
Exchange gains and losses (-)	185	1 079	2 779	1 191	5 233
As at 31 December 2024	38 343	131 857	60 160	32 153	262 513

¹ Total transfers equal zero when aggregating the balances of "Intangible assets" and "Property, plant and equipment" (see note 6.3. "Property, plant and equipment" and 6.4. "Right-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment").

The newly acquired intangible assets related to capitalized R&D expenditures in Belgium, the Toshiba license for green hydrogen production and software expenditures related to the extensive implementation of the digital roadmap in various domains (commercial, supply chain, manufacturing, procurement, finance, HR, etc.) and included € 5.8 million internally developed software while the remainder was externally purchased. The newly consolidated intangibles related to the BEXCO acquisition and mainly entailed the economic right to use the trade name as well as technology licenses. See also note 7.2. "Effect of business combinations and business disposals".

No intangible assets have been identified as having an indefinite useful life at the balance sheet date.

Accumulated amortization and impairment	Licenses,
in thousands of €	patents & similar rights	Computer software	Commercial assets	Other	Total
As at 1 January 2023	21 303	81 681	28 880	14 409	146 274
Charge for the year	1 913	6 044	4 021	307	12 285
Impairment losses	—	1	—	—	1
Disposals and retirements	-124	-809	—	—	-932
Deconsolidations	—	-4 139	—	-250	-4 389
Exchange gains (-) and losses	-10	-1 013	75	-817	-1 766
As at 31 December 2023	23 082	81 765	32 976	13 649	151 473
As at 1 January 2024	23 082	81 765	32 976	13 649	151 473
Charge for the year	2 663	7 271	3 691	537	14 163
Impairment losses	—	—	—	447	447
Disposals and retirements	—	-275	—	—	-275
Exchange gains (-) and losses	48	990	1 712	1 077	3 828
As at 31 December 2024	25 793	89 752	38 379	15 711	169 636
Carry amount as at 31 December 2023	4 502	31 486	24 142	8 540	68 670
Carry amount as at 31 December 2024	12 550	42 105	21 781	16 442	92 877

6.2. Goodwill

This note mainly relates to goodwill on acquisition of subsidiaries. Goodwill in respect of joint ventures and associates is disclosed in note 6.5. 'Investments in joint ventures and associates'.

Cost
2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 157 901	157 318
New consolidations 2 259	13 967
Deconsolidation -1 822	—
Exchange gains and losses (-) -1 021	323
As at 31 December 157 318	171 608

Impairment losses

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 5 334	5 246
Exchange gains (-) and losses -88	-45
As at 31 December 5 246	5 202
Carrying amount as at 31 December 152 072	166 406

Goodwill by cash-generating unit (CGU)

Goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated on acquisition to the cash-generating units (CGU) that are expected to benefit from that business combination. The carrying amount of goodwill allocated and any related movements of the period are as follows:

2023

in thousands of €	Group of cash-generating units	Carrying amount 1 January	Increases	Disposals	Exchange differences	Carrying amount 31 December
Subsidiaries
SWS	Bekaert Bradford UK Ltd	2 523	—	—	52	2 575
SB	Combustion - heating EMEA	3 027	—	—	—	3 027
SB	Building Products	71	—	—	—	71
RR	Rubber Reinforcement	4 255	—	—	—	4 255
SWS	Orrville plant (USA)	10 998	—	—	-382	10 616
SWS	Inchalam group	699	—	-699	—	—
SWS	Bekaert Ideal SL companies	1 994	—	-1 123	—	871
SWS	Bekaert (Qingdao) Wire Products Co Ltd	385	—	—	—	385
SWS	Bekaert Jiangyin Wire Products Co Ltd	47	—	—	—	47
BBRG	BBRG	128 567	2 259	—	-603	130 224
Subtotal		152 567	2 259	-1 822	-933	152 072
Joint ventures and associates
SWS	Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	2 666	—	—	138	2 803
RR	BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	1 630	—	—	84	1 714
Subtotal		4 295	—	—	222	4 517
Total		156 862	2 259	-1 822	-711	156 589

in thousands of €	Group of cash-generating units	Carrying amount 1 January	Increases	Disposals	Exchange differences	Carrying amount 31 December
Subsidiaries
SWS	Bekaert Bradford UK Ltd	2 575	—	—	124	2 699
SB	Combustion - heating EMEA	3 027	—	—	—	3 027
SB	Building Products	71	—	—	—	71
RR	Rubber Reinforcement	4 255	—	—	—	4 255
SWS	Orrville plant (USA)	10 616	—	—	675	11 291
SWS	Inchalam group	—	—	—	—	—
SWS	Bekaert Ideal SL companies	871	—	—	—	871
SWS	Bekaert (Qingdao) Wire Products Co Ltd	385	—	—	—	385
SWS	Bekaert Jiangyin Wire Products Co Ltd	47	—	—	—	47
BBRG	BBRG	130 224	13 967	—	-432	143 759
Subtotal		152 072	13 967	—	368	166 406
Joint ventures and associates
SWS	Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	2 803	—	—	-464	2 339
RR	BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	1 714	—	—	-284	1 430
Subtotal		4 517	—	—	-748	3 769
Total		156 589	13 967	—	-380	170 175

The increase in goodwill related to the acquisition of Bexco NV (see note 7.2. Effect of business combinations and business disposals).

The discount factor for all impairment tests is based on a (long-term) post-tax cost of capital, the risks being implicit in the cash flows. A weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is determined for euro, US dollar and Chinese renminbi regions. For countries or businesses with a higher perceived risk, the WACC is raised with a country or business specific risk factor. The WACC is post-tax based, since relevant cash flows are also post-tax based. In determining the weight of the cost of debt vs the cost of equity, a target gearing (net debt relative to equity) of 50% is used. For cash flow models stated in real terms (without inflation), the nominal WACC is adjusted for the expected inflation rate. For cash flow models in nominal terms, the nominal WACC is used. All parameters used for the calculation of the discount factors are reviewed at least annually.

In relation to the impairment testing of goodwill arising from the BBRG business combination, the following model characteristics have been used:

• a 6-year forecast timeframe of cash flows based on the latest business plan, followed by a terminal value assumption based on a nominal perpetual growth rate of 2% (in 2023: 2%), which mainly is based on a conservative industrial GDP evolution assumption;
• the cash flows reflect the evolution taking into account agreed action plans and are based on the assets in their current condition, without including the impacts of future restructuring not yet committed;
• only capital expenditure required to maintain the assets in good working order are included; future capital expenditures improving or enhancing the assets in excess of their originally assessed standard of performance are not considered;
• no cost structure improvements are taken into account unless they can be substantiated; and
• the cash outflows relating to working capital are calculated as a percentage of incremental sales based on the past performance of BBRG.

During 2024, Bekaert management requested a business plan including a 6-year forecast timeframe instead of a 5-year forecast timeframe to align with the 2030 ambition of the Group. Management is considering sustainability impacts during the creation of the business plan.

The headroom for impairment, i.e., the excess of the recoverable amount over the carrying amount of the BBRG CGU is estimated at € 345.3 million (2023: € 615.6 million). The decrease is the combined result of an updated business plan in view of the current expected market projections partially offset by decreased discount rates (€ -206.5 million) and an increase of the capital employed of the business (€ -63.9 million).

The following scenario's illustrate the sensitivity of this headroom to changes in the key assumptions of the business plan:

• If the underlying EBITDA would be € 5.0 million short from the forecasted level in all periods of the business plan, then headroom would be € 54.5 million lower (remaining € 290.8 million);
• If the percentage underlying EBITDA on sales would be 1% short from the forecasted level in all periods of the business plan, then headroom would be € 81.2 million lower (remaining € 264.1 million);
• If the sales level would be 10% lower in all periods of the business plan, then headroom would be € 130.0 million lower (remaining € 215.3 million);
• If the discount factor would be 1% higher, then headroom would be € 117.0 million lower (remaining € 228.3 million);
• The combined effect of a lower sales level by 10% and a lower underlying EBITDA margin by 1%, in all periods of the business plan would result in a drop of € 203.2 million in headroom (remaining € 142.1 million);
• The combined effect of a lower sales level by 10%, a lower underlying EBITDA margin by 1% in all periods of the business plan and a higher discount factor with 1% would result in a drop of € 297.2 million in headroom (remaining € 48.1 million).

Based on current knowledge, reasonable changes in key assumptions (including discount rate, sales and margin evolution) would not generate impairments for any of the cash-generating units for which goodwill has been allocated.

2023	EUR region	USD region	CNY region
Group target ratios
Gearing: net debt / equity 50.0%
% debt 33.0%
% equity 67.0%
% LT debt 75.0%
% ST debt 25.0%
Cost of Bekaert debt	2.7 %	3.9 %	4.8 %
Long term interest rate	3.1 %	4.2 %	4.9 %
Short term interest rate	1.6 %	3.2 %	4.4 %
Cost of Bekaert equity (post tax) = Rf + b * Em + S	13.5 %	14.7 %	15.2 %
Risk free rate = Rf	3.3 %	4.5 %	4.9 %
Beta = b 1.3
Market equity risk premium = Em 6.8 %
Size premium = S 1.4 %
Corporate tax rate 27.0 %
Cost of Bekaert equity	18.5 %	20.2 %	20.8 %
Bekaert WACC - nominal	9.7 %	10.8 %	11.3 %
Expected inflation	2.0 %	2.0 %	2.3 %
Bekaert WACC in real terms	7.7 %	8.8 %	9.0 %

Discount rates for impairment testing
2024		EUR region	USD region	CNY region
Group target ratios
Gearing: net debt / equity	50.0%
% debt	33.0%
% equity	67.0%
% LT debt	75.0%
% ST debt	25.0%
Cost of Bekaert debt		2.4%	4.1%	4.6%
Long term interest rate		2.6%	4.4%	4.7%
Short term interest rate		1.8%	3.2%	4.2%
Cost of Bekaert equity (post tax)	= Rf + b * Em + S	11.9%	13.2%	12.5%
Risk free rate = Rf		3.0%	4.3%	3.6%
Beta = b	1.3
Market equity risk premium = Em	5.8 %
Size premium = S	1.4 %
Corporate tax rate	27.0 %
Cost of Bekaert equity		16.3%	18.1%	17.1%
Bekaert WACC - nominal		8.5%	9.8%	9.5%
Expected inflation		2.0%	2.2%	2.0%
Bekaert WACC in real terms		6.5%	7.6%	7.5%

6.3. Property, plant and equipment

Cost		Plant, machinery
in thousands of €	Land and buildings	and equipment	Furniture and vehicles	Other PP&E	Assets under construction	Total
As at 1 January 2023	1 270 838	3 041 305	116 506	17 611	184 110	4 630 371
Expenditure	50 559	114 594	6 497	262	16 039	187 950
Disposals and retirements	-1 722	-43 827	-4 960	-97	-2 348	-52 954
New consolidations	—	151	1	—	—	153
Deconsolidations	-95 825	-95 560	-10 487	-319	-13 628	-215 820
Transfers ¹	—	—	—	—	-301	-301
Reclassification to (-) / from held for sale ²	-22 097	-70	-521	-376	—	-23 064
Exchange gains and losses (-)	-39 586	-107 321	-3 158	-1	-3 446	-153 512
As at 31 December 2023	1 162 167	2 909 272	103 879	17 079	180 427	4 372 824
As at 1 January 2024	1 162 167	2 909 272	103 879	17 079	180 427	4 372 824
Expenditure	36 280	119 601	6 038	329	23 920	186 168
Disposals and retirements	-8 228	-30 664	-3 839	-408	—	-43 139
New consolidations	9 207	990	118	8	982	11 304
Transfers ¹	—	—	—	—	-199	-199
Reclassification to (-) / from held for sale ²	4 588	55	521	210	—	5 374
Exchange gains and losses (-)	26 494	68 377	2 023	41	3 642	100 578
As at 31 December 2024	1 230 508	3 067 631	108 739	17 259	208 772	4 632 910

¹ Total transfers equal zero when aggregating the balances of "Intangible assets" (see note 6.1. "Intangible assets") and "Right-of-use property, plant and equipment" (see note 6.4. "Rights-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment") and "Property, plant and equipment".

² In 2023, the reclassification to held for sale mainly related to the Ingelmunster (Belgium) site and part of the Deerlijk (Belgium) site as well as land and buildings in Germany and Italy; in 2024 this related to the Ingelmunster site and part of the Deerlijk site (see note 6.12. 'Assets classified as held for sale and liabilities associated with those assets').

Accumulated depreciation and impairment		Plant, machinery
in thousands of €	Land and buildings	and equipment	Furniture and vehicles	Other PP&E	Assets under construction	Total
As at 1 January 2023	748 070	2 529 033	103 682	6 531	—	3 387 317
Charge for the year	41 043	86 762	4 992	852	—	133 649
Impairment losses	1 304	9 672	88	—	—	11 063
Disposals and retirements	-317	-43 263	-4 911	-98	—	-48 590
Deconsolidations	-27 618	-60 898	-7 765	-319	—	-96 599
Reclassification to (-) / from held for sale ¹	-10 820	-63	-491	-103	—	-11 477
Exchange gains (-) and losses	-27 612	-94 343	-2 821	-20	—	-124 796
As at 31 December 2023	724 050	2 426 900	92 774	6 844	—	3 250 568
As at 1 January 2024	724 050	2 426 900	92 774	6 844	—	3 250 568
Charge for the year	41 765	82 891	4 815	807	—	130 279
Impairment losses	619	8 857	12	—	—	9 488
Disposals and retirements	-4 455	-29 477	-3 802	-133	—	-37 868
Reclassification to (-) / from held for sale ¹	2 209	48	491	103	—	2 852
Exchange gains (-) and losses	17 407	54 567	1 724	15	—	73 714
As at 31 December 2024	781 596	2 543 786	96 015	7 636	—	3 429 033

¹ In 2023, the reclassification to held for sale mainly related to the Ingelmunster (Belgium) site and part of the Deerlijk (Belgium) site (see note 6.20 'Other current liabilities') as well as buildings in Germany and Italy, while in 2024 this related to the Ingelmunster site and part of the Deerlijk site (see note 6.12. 'Assets classified as held for sale and liabilities associated with those assets').

Cost		Plant, machinery
in thousands of €	Land and buildings	and equipment	Furniture and vehicles	Other PP&E	Assets under construction	Total
Carrying amount as at 31 December 2023 before investment grants	438 117	482 373	11 105	10 234	180 427	1 122 256
Net investment grants	-3 526	-667	—	—	—	-4 193
Carry amount as at 31 December 2023	434 591	481 707	11 105	10 234	180 427	1 118 063
Carrying amount as at 31 December 2024 before investment grants	448 912	523 845	12 724	9 624	208 772	1 203 877
Net investment grants	-3 469	-447	—	—	—	-3 916
Carry amount as at 31 December 2024	445 443	523 398	12 724	9 624	208 772	1 199 961

Capital expenditure included capacity expansions and equipment upgrades (such as the "You Know Watt" program) across the group, but particularly in Rubber Reinforcement (in its plants in EMEA, India and China, as well as the start-up of its green field in Vietnam). Capital expenditure in the Steel Wire Solutions business was mainly in Central Europe and the US, and to a lesser extent also in Latin America and China.

In the Specialty Businesses segment, expansion capital expenditure was in Central Europe (Building Products and Fiber Technologies) and in China (Fiber Technologies), while improvement capital expenditure was in the European plants of Combustion Technologies, Building Products and Hose and Conveyor Belt Solutions. Finally, capital expenditure in BBRG was mainly in its UK- and US-based Ropes entities and in Advanced Cords plants.

The ending balance of Assets under Construction per year-end 2024 related to a few big expansion projects (such as the expansions in the Steel Wire Solutions plants in the US, in the Steel Wire Solutions and Fiber Technologies plants in Central Europe, and the expansion in Advanced Cords) but predominantly to a series of smaller capital expenditure projects not yet completed in various Bekaert entities.

The disposals and retirements were in 2024 mainly linked to organic asset renewals.

In 2023, due to plant closures impairment losses have been recorded in Rubber Reinforcement (China), Steel Wire Solutions (Indonesia) and Specialty Businesses (Combustion Technologies China and Netherlands).

In 2024, impairment losses have been recorded in BBRG (United Kingdom), Steel Wire Solutions (China) and Specialty Businesses (Sawing Wire China and Combustion Technologies Netherlands).

The deconsolidated property, plant and equipment in 2023 related to the disposal of the Steel Wire Solutions businesses in Chile and Peru, while the newly consolidated property, plant and equipment in 2024 related to the acquisition of BEXCO. See also note 7.2. 'Effect of business combinations and business disposals'.

No items of PP&E were pledged as securities.

6.4. Right-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment

This note provides information for leases where the group is a lessee. In principal, the Group does not act as a lessor.

The balance sheet showed the following roll-forward during the year relating to right-of-use assets:

Cost			RoU plant, machinery	RoU	RoU
in thousands of €	RoU land	RoU buildings	and equipment	industrial vehicles	company cars	RoU office equipment	RoU other PP&E	Total
As at 1 January 2023	77 896	73 684	4 053	26 431	23 696	2 811	995	209 566
New leases / extensions	—	10 478	10 512	6 847	13 457	654	23	41 971
Ending contracts / reductions in contract term	—	-9 138	-211	-5 253	-7 669	-464	-30	-22 765
Deconsolidations	—	-4 677	-691	-2 085	-36	-851	—	-8 341
Exchange gains and losses (-)	-4 306	-1 206	-49	-326	-353	-63	-2	-6 306
As at 31 December 2023	73 590	69 141	13 614	25 613	29 095	2 086	986	214 126
As at 1 January 2024	73 590	69 141	13 614	25 613	29 095	2 086	986	214 126
New leases / extensions	13	12 091	784	7 160	12 421	425	—	32 894
Ending contracts / reductions in contract term	—	-5 623	-640	-5 055	-7 950	-361	—	-19 629
New consolidations	1 446	2 675	488	—	—	—	—	4 608
Exchange gains and losses (-)	3 215	1 918	23	474	-65	37	44	5 646
As at 31 December 2024	78 264	80 201	14 269	28 192	33 501	2 188	1 030	237 645

Accumulated depreciation and impairment			RoU plant, machinery	RoU	RoU
in thousands of €	RoU land	RoU buildings	and equipment	industrial vehicles	company cars	RoU office equipment	RoU other PP&E	Total
As at 1 January 2023	21 484	27 374	2 628	12 392	13 270	1 440	227	78 816
Charge for the year	1 396	10 535	1 646	6 211	6 658	466	106	27 017
Ending contracts	—	-7 750	-211	-3 994	-7 163	-367	-13	-19 499
Deconsolidations	—	-2 500	-497	-1 165	-26	-504	—	-4 693
Exchange gains (-) and losses	-1 298	-693	-18	-158	-220	-27	-10	-2 425
As at 31 December 2023	21 582	26 965	3 548	13 286	12 519	1 008	309	79 216
As at 1 January 2024	21 582	26 965	3 548	13 286	12 519	1 008	309	79 216
Charge for the year	1 419	11 107	2 430	6 500	7 735	453	105	29 749
Ending contracts	—	-5 464	-472	-4 795	-7 193	-361	—	-18 284
Exchange gains (-) and losses	907	643	26	259	-59	19	15	1 810
As at 31 December 2024	23 908	33 251	5 532	15 250	13 002	1 118	429	92 490

			RoU plant, machinery	RoU	RoU
		RoU	and	industrial	company	RoU office	RoU other
in thousands of €	RoU land	buildings	equipment	vehicles	cars	equipment	PP&E	Total
Carrying amount as at 31 December 2023	52 008	42 176	10 066	12 328	16 576	1 079	677	134 910
Carrying amount as at 31 December 2024	54 356	46 950	8 737	12 942	20 499	1 070	601	145 154

The Group leases various plants, offices, warehouses, equipment, industrial vehicles, company cars, servers and small office equipment like printers and computers. Contracts may contain both lease and non-lease components. The Group allocates the consideration in the contract to the lease and non-lease components based on their relative stand-alone prices. However, for leases of company cars and industrial vehicles for which the Group is a lessee, it has elected not to separate lease and non-lease components and instead account for these as a single lease component. The main non-lease components included in the lease component relate to costs for maintenance and for replacement of tires. The Group applied the practical expedient for low value assets to leases of printers, computers and other small office equipment. The Group also applied the practical expedient for short term leases (defined as leases with a lease term of 12 months or less). There were no contracts with dismantling costs, residual value guarantees or initial direct costs, nor contracts with variable lease expenses other than those linked to an index or rate.

Lease contracts related to company cars and industrial vehicles do not contain any extension options.

In general, contracts related to buildings do also not include any extension options.

There were no future cash outflows arising from extension and termination options.

Additions to RoU buildings included new contracts for offices, plants and warehouses, mainly in the United States, Belgium and New Zealand. Some contracts ended, mainly in the United States and India.

Most new contracts for company cars were concluded in Belgium.

The average lease term for the RoU assets (excluding the RoU land) was 9.6 years (2023: 9.4 years). RoU buildings had an average lease term of 14 years (2023: 13 years) and the other categories of PP&E (excluding land) had an average lease term between 4 and 6 years.

RoU land relates mainly to land use rights that were paid in advance and had an average useful live of 54 years.

The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease. If that rate cannot be readily determined, which is generally the case for leases in the Group, the lessee's incremental borrowing rate is used to discount the future lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is the rate that the individual lessee would have to pay to borrow the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value to the right-of-use asset in a similar economic environment with similar terms, security and conditions.

The incremental borrowing rate is determined by Group Treasury, taking into account the market rate per currency for different relevant time buckets and the credit margin for each individual company based on its credit rating. The incremental borrowing rate is calculated as the total of both elements. The weighted average discount rate at the end of 2024 was 4.78% (2023: 4.48%).

The finance cost is charged to profit or loss over the lease period so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period. For further information on the lease liability, we refer to note 6.18. 'Interest-bearing debt'.

The Group is exposed to potential future increases in variable lease payments, based on an index or rate, which are not included in the lease liability until they take effect. When adjustments to lease payments based on an index or rate take effect, the lease liability is reassessed and adjusted against the right-of-use asset.

Right-of-use assets were generally depreciated over the shorter of the asset's useful life and the lease term on a straight-line basis.

The income statement showed the following amounts relating to leases:

2023

			RoU plant, machinery	RoU	RoU
in thousands of €	RoU land	RoU buildings	and equipment	industrial vehicles	company cars	RoU office equipment	RoU other PP&E	Total
Depreciation charge of right-of use assets	-1 396	-10 535	-1 646	-6 211	-6 658	-466	-106	-27 017
Interest expense (included in finance cost)								-3 748
Expense relating to short-term leases								-2 113
Expense relating to low-value leases								-1 587
Total								-34 465

2024

			RoU plant, machinery	RoU	RoU
in thousands of €	RoU land	RoU buildings	and equipment	industrial vehicles	company cars	RoU office equipment	RoU other PP&E	Total
Depreciation charge of right-of use assets	-1 419	-11 107	-2 430	-6 500	-7 735	-453	-105	-29 749
Interest expense (included in finance cost)								-4 731
Expense relating to short-term leases								-2 563
Expense relating to low-value leases								-1 898
Total								-38 940

The remaining operating lease expenses in the operating result mainly related to costs linked to leased assets such as fuel for company cars, non-deductible VAT on company car contracts and property taxes on buildings.

The total cash outflow for leases in 2024 was € 36.2 million (2023: € 31.1 million).

6.5. Investments in joint ventures and associates

In 2024 and 2023, the Group had no investments in entities qualified as associates.

Investments excluding related goodwill

Carrying amount
2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 217 590	219 106
Capital increases and decreases 2 346	—
Result for the year 46 623	48 799
Dividends -57 152	-49 270
Discontinued equity method consolidations -1 179	—
Exchange gains and losses 10 963	-33 865
Other comprehensive income	-85 80
As at 31 December 219 106	184 851

For an analysis of the result for the year, please refer to note 5.7. 'Share in the results of joint ventures and associates'.

Exchange gains and losses related mainly to the evolution of the Brazilian real versus the euro. In 2024, the Brazilian real significantly decreased in value against the euro (6.4 BRL/EUR end 2024) while it increased slightly in value against the euro in 2023 (5.4 BRL/EUR end 2023 vs 5.6 BRL/EUR end 2022).

In 2023, capital increases related to Agro - Bekaert Springs, SL and Agro-Bekaert Colombia SAS in Spain and Colombia. While the discontinued equity method consolidations related to the sale of the Group's share in those same companies.

Related goodwill

Cost in thousands of € 2023 2024 As at 1 January 4 295 4 517 Exchange gains and losses 222 -748 As at 31 December 4 517 3 769

Carrying amount of related goodwill as at 31 December 4 517	3 769
Total carrying amount of investments in joint ventures as at 31 December 223 623	188 620

See note 6.2 "Goodwill" for details per entity.

The Group's share in the equity of joint ventures is analyzed as follows:

in thousands of €		2023	2024
Joint ventures
Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	Brazil	168 835	142 793
BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	Brazil	50 180	42 138
Servicios Ideal AGF Inttegra Cía Ltda	Ecuador	91	-80
Total for joint ventures excluding related goodwill		219 106	184 850
Carrying amount of related goodwill		4 517	3 769
Total for joint ventures including related goodwill		223 623	188 620

In accordance with IFRS 12 'Disclosures of Interests in Other Entities', following information is provided on material joint ventures. The two Brazilian joint ventures have been aggregated in order to emphasize the predominance of the partnership with ArcelorMittal when analyzing the relative importance of the joint ventures.

Proportion of ownership interest (and voting rights) held by the Group at year-end

Name of joint venture

in thousands of €	Country	2023	2024
Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	Brazil	45.0% (50.0%)	45.0% (50.0%)
BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	Brazil	44.5% (50.0%)	44.5% (50.0%)

Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda manufactures and sells a wide variety of steel wire products for various sectors, and BMB manufactures and sells steel cord and bead wire for the reinforcement of tires.

Brazilian joint ventures: income statement

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Sales 1 034 383	926 798
Operating result (EBIT) 135 324	152 894
Interest income 9 774	10 738
Interest expense -11 453	-10 351
Other financial income and expenses -3 882	-2 638
Income taxes -14 323	-30 276
Result for the period 115 439	120 366
Other comprehensive income for the period -85	79
Total comprehensive income for the period 115 354	120 446
Depreciation and amortization 20 657	20 908
EBITDA 155 981	173 801
Dividends received from the entities 57 152	49 270

Brazilian joint ventures: balance sheet

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Current assets	352 935	308 671
Non-current assets	393 529	326 996
Current liabilities	-125 648	-121 144
Non-current liabilities	-136 815	-106 380
Net assets	484 001	408 143

Brazilian joint ventures: net debt elements

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Non-current interest-bearing debt	97 496	71 099
Current interest-bearing debt	19 868	21 144
Total financial debt	117 363	92 243
Non-current financial receivables and cash guarantees	-108 311	-80 188
Cash and cash equivalents	-22 647	-17 139
Net debt	-13 595	-5 085

The Brazilian joint ventures have been facing claims relating to indirect tax credits (ICMS) totaling € 5.6 million (2023: € 7.6 million). Several other tax claims, most of which date back several years, were filed for a total nominal amount of € 24.1 million (2023: € 28.3 million). Evidently, any potential gains and losses resulting from the above mentioned contingencies would only affect the Group to the extent of their interest in the joint ventures involved (i.e. 45%).

Unrecognized commitments to acquire property, plant and equipment amounted to € 4.5 million (2023: € 6.1 million), including € 1.8 million (2023: € 2.6 million) from other Bekaert companies. Furthermore, the Brazilian joint ventures have unrecognized commitments to purchase electricity over the next five years for an aggregate amount of € 8.0 million (2023: € 14.2 million).

There were no restrictions to transfer funds in the form of cash and dividends. Bekaert had no commitments or contingent liabilities versus its Brazilian joint ventures.

Brazilian joint ventures: reconciliation with carrying amount

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Net assets of Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	373 874	316 111
Proportion of the Group's ownership interest	45.0%	45.0%
Proportionate net assets	168 243	142 250
Consolidation adjustments	592	543
Carrying amount of the Group's interest in Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	168 835	142 793
Net assets of BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	110 126	92 032
Proportion of the Group's ownership interest	44.5%	44.5%
Proportionate net assets	49 006	40 954
Consolidation adjustments	1 174	1 184
Carrying amount of the Group's interest in BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	50 180	42 138
Carrying amount of the Group's interest in the Brazilian joint ventures	219 016	184 931

The following table reflects aggregate information for the other joint ventures which were not deemed material in this context.

Aggregate information of the other joint ventures

in thousands of €	2023	2024
The Group's share in the result from continuing operations	-236	-170
The Group's share of other comprehensive income	—	-1
The Group's share of total comprehensive income	-237	-171
Aggregate carrying amount of the Group's interests in these joint ventures	91	-80

6.6. Other non-current assets

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Non-current financial receivables and cash guarantees 10 005	11 186
Reimbursement rights and other non-current amounts receivable 948	886
Derivatives (cf. note 7.3.) 15 169	28 100
Overfunded employee benefit plans - non-current 11 019	20 217
Equity investments at FVTOCI 31 060	40 621
Total other non-current assets 68 202	101 010

The overfunded employee benefit plans related to the UK and Belgian pension plans (see note 6.16. 'Employee benefit obligations').The surplus of assets can be used to offset future contributions or there is an option to have the surplus returned to the company.

Equity investments at FVTOCI

Carrying amount

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 26 023	31 060
Expenditure 8 843	1 443
Disposals —	-1 262
Fair value changes -3 081	9 380
Deconsolidations -725	—
As at 31 December 31 060	40 621

The equity investments designated as at fair value through OCI (FVTOCI) in accordance with IFRS 9 "Financial Instruments" mainly consisted of:

• Shougang Concord Century Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed company (€ 13.1 million). On this investment, an increase in fair value of € 7.8 million was recognized through OCI (2023: decrease of € 1.3 million).
• Bekaert Xinyu Metal Products Co Ltd (€ 6.9 million). On this investment, an increase in fair value of € 1.1 million was recognized through OCI (2023: an decrease of € 0.7 million).
• Pajarito Powder LLC (€ 3.9 million), an investment held by Bekaert Corporation (US).
• Zacua Ventures Builders Fund I, LP (€ 1.8 million), an investment held by Bekaert Corporation (US).
• Ionomr Innovations Inc, an investment held by NV Bekaert SA (€ 4.6 Million).

The Group disposed the participation held in Moreda-Rivière Trefilerias SA in 2024 (€ -1.2 million).

The Group decided to value its equity investments at fair value through OCI as these are strategic investments, not held for trading. For more information on the revaluation reserve for investments designated as at fair value through equity, see note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'.

6.7. Deferred tax assets and liabilities

Carrying amount	Assets			Liabilities
in thousands of €	2023	2024	2023	2024
As at 1 January	104 372	120 779	44 018	35 618
Increase or decrease via income statement	22 249	-260	3 759	-8 121
Increase or decrease via OCI	2 648	-2 134	-1 300	2 335
New consolidations	1 002	361	—	5 224
Deconsolidations	-9 992	—	-13 966	—
Exchange gains and losses	-3 726	3 265	-1 118	1 986
Change in set-off of assets and liabilities	4 226	-5 720	4 226	-5 720
As at 31 December	120 779	116 291	35 618	31 321

Recognized deferred tax assets and liabilities

Deferred tax assets and liabilities were attributable to the following items:

	Assets			Liabilities		Net assets
in thousands of €	2023	2024	2023	2024	2023	2024
Intangible assets	22 564	18 816	12 350	15 163	10 214	3 653
Property, plant and equipment	43 008	48 443	43 872	38 778	-864	9 666
Financial assets	64	—	25 601	32 700	-25 537	-32 700
Inventories	8 247	8 745	12 911	11 959	-4 664	-3 214
Receivables	1 348	984	3 228	3 117	-1 881	-2 133
Other current assets	537	614	3 312	3 919	-2 775	-3 305
Employee benefit obligations	19 519	16 547	799	273	18 720	16 275
Other provisions	2 830	1 945	5 134	3 972	-2 303	-2 027
Other liabilities	36 344	27 418	8 071	6 821	28 273	20 597
Tax deductible losses carried forward, tax credits and recoverable income taxes	65 979	78 158	—	—	65 979	78 158
Tax assets / liabilities	200 439	201 671	115 278	116 701	85 161	84 970
Set-off of assets and liabilities	-79 660	-85 380	-79 660	-85 380	—	—
Net tax assets / liabilities	120 779	116 291	35 618	31 321	85 161	84 970

The deferred taxes on property, plant and equipment mainly related to differences in depreciation method between IFRS and tax books, whereas the deferred taxes on intangible assets were mainly generated by intercompany gains which have been eliminated in the consolidated statements. The deferred taxes on employee benefit obligations were mainly generated by temporary differences arising from recognition of liabilities in accordance with IAS 19 'Employee Benefits'. The deferred tax liabilities on financial assets mainly related to temporary differences arising from undistributed profits from subsidiaries and joint ventures.

Movements in deferred tax assets and liabilities arose from the following:

2023

	As at 1	Recognized via income	Recognized	Acquisitions	Exchange gains and	As at 31
in thousands of €	January	statement	via OCI	and disposals	losses	December
Temporary differences
Intangible assets	15 361	-4 946	—	31	-232	10 214
Property, plant and equipment	-14 234	1 884	—	12 494	-1 007	-864
Financial assets	-31 676	2 998	1 516	1 570	55	-25 537
Inventories	-2 831	1 627	—	-3 774	313	-4 664
Receivables	3 563	-3 936	—	-1 565	58	-1 881
Other current assets	-1 802	-840	—	43	-175	-2 775
Employee benefit obligations	19 894	582	2 411	-3 579	-589	18 720
Other provisions	3 195	-5 465	21	-6	-48	-2 303
Other liabilities	31 052	-1 307	—	-1 051	-422	28 273
Tax deductible losses carried forward, tax credits and recoverable income taxes	37 832	27 894	—	813	-560	65 979
Total	60 355	18 490	3 948	4 976	-2 607	85 161

2024

		Recognized			Exchange
in thousands of €	As at 1 January	via income statement	Recognized via OCI	Acquisitions and disposals	gains and losses	As at 31 December
Temporary differences
Intangible assets	10 214	-3 542	—	-2 888	-131	3 653
Property, plant and equipment	-864	12 270	—	-2 235	495	9 666
Financial assets	-25 537	-4 250	-2 569	—	-344	-32 700
Inventories	-4 664	2 365	—	-101	-813	-3 214
Receivables	-1 881	-244	—	—	-8	-2 133
Other current assets	-2 775	-500	—	—	-30	-3 305
Employee benefit obligations	18 720	-865	-1 899	—	319	16 275
Other provisions	-2 303	255	—	—	21	-2 027
Other liabilities	28 273	-8 377	—	361	339	20 597
Tax deductible losses carried forward, tax credits and recoverable income taxes	65 979	10 748	—	—	1 431	78 158
Total	85 161	7 861	-4 469	-4 862	1 279	84 970

Deferred taxes related to other comprehensive income (OCI)

2023

in thousands of €	Before tax	Tax impact	After tax
Exchange differences	-30 813	—	-30 813
Net fair value gain (+) / loss (-) on investments in equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI	-2 822	—	-2 822
Remeasurement gains and losses on defined-benefit plans	-15 000	3 948	-11 052
Share of OCI of joint ventures and associates	-129	44	-85
Total	-48 765	3 992	-44 773

2024

in thousands of €	Before tax	Tax impact	After tax
Exchange differences	11 104	—	11 104
Net fair value gain (+) / loss (-) on investments in equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI	8 985	—	8 985
Remeasurement gains and losses on defined-benefit plans	20 502	-4 469	16 034
Share of OCI of joint ventures and associates	121	-41	80
Total	40 712	-4 510	36 202

Unrecognized deferred tax assets

Deferred tax assets, related to deductible temporary differences, have not been recognized for a gross amount of € 191.7 million (2023: € 206.9 million). The unrecognized deferred tax assets in respect of tax losses and tax credits are presented in the table by expiry date below.

Capital losses, trade losses and tax credits by expiry date

The following table presents the gross amounts of the tax losses and tax credits generating deferred tax assets of which some were unrecognized.

2023

		Expiring	Expiring between 1 and	Expiring after more than 5
in thousands of €		within 1 year	5 years	years	Not expiring	Total
Capital losses	Gross value	—	—	—	63 216	63 216
	Allowance	—	—	—	-63 216	-63 216
	Net balance	—	—	—	—	—
Trade losses	Gross value	26 371	79 299	37 148	707 849	850 667
	Allowance	-25 215	-78 337	-36 658	-433 166	-573 376
	Net balance	1 156	962	490	274 683	277 291
Tax credits	Gross value	—	—	—	12 785	12 785
	Allowance	—	—	—	-2 941	-2 941
	Net balance	—	—	—	9 844	9 844
Total	Gross value	26 371	79 299	37 148	783 850	926 668
	Allowance	-25 215	-78 337	-36 658	-499 322	-639 532
	Net balance	1 156	962	490	284 528	287 136

2024

		Expiring	Expiring between 1 and	Expiring after more than 5
in thousands of €		within 1 year	5 years	years	Not expiring	Total
Capital losses	Gross value	—	—	—	65 308	65 308
	Allowance	—	—	—	-63 496	-63 496
	Net balance	—	—	—	1 812	1 812
Trade losses	Gross value	21 516	68 809	36 757	772 350	899 431
	Allowance	-12 700	-68 459	-35 975	-469 007	-586 141
	Net balance	8 816	350	782	303 343	313 290
Tax credits	Gross value	29	10	—	5 384	5 422
	Allowance	—	—	—	-3 214	-3 214
	Net balance	29	10	—	2 169	2 208
Total	Gross value	21 545	68 818	36 757	843 042	970 162
	Allowance	-12 700	-68 459	-35 975	-535 717	-652 851
	Net balance	8 844	359	782	307 324	317 310

The net deferred tax assets corresponding to these base amounts were € 78.2 million in 2024 (2023: € 66.0 million).

Deferred tax assets were recognized only to the extent that it was probable that future taxable profits would be available, taking into account all evidence, both positive and negative. This assessment was done using prudent estimates based on the business plan for the entity concerned, typically using a five year time horizon.

In some countries, deferred tax assets on capital losses, trade losses and tax credits were recognized to the extent of uncertain tax provisions recognized, in order to reflect that some tax audit adjustments would result in an adjustment of the amount of tax losses rather than in a tax cash-out for the entity concerned.

Capital losses, trade losses and tax credits by country

2024

in thousands of €	Capital losses	Trade losses	Tax credits	Total
Australia	2 894	—	39	2 933
Belgium	1 812	323 437	1 017	326 266
Brazil	—	7 323	—	7 323
Canada	—	35 056	—	35 056
Chile	10 083	—	—	10 083
China	—	70 449	—	70 449
Costa Rica	—	1 082	—	1 082
Germany	—	103 567	—	103 567
Hong Kong	—	1 511	—	1 511
Indonesia	—	1 804	—	1 804
Italy	—	30 714	—	30 714
Malaysia	6 120	20 297	3 214	29 631
Netherlands	—	23 419	—	23 419
New Zealand	—	263	—	263
Norway	—	18 169	—	18 169
Russian Federation	—	338	—	338
Spain	—	42 459	—	42 459
Turkey	—	8 518	—	8 518
United Kingdom	11 787	88 653	1 152	101 592
United States	32 613	97 900	—	130 513
Venezuela	—	647	—	647
Vietnam	—	23 825	—	23 825
Total	65 308	899 431	5 422	970 162

6.8. Operating working capital

2023

		Organic increase	Write downs and write			Exchange
in thousands of €	As at 1 January	or decrease ¹	down reversals	New	consolidations Deconsolidations	gains and losses	Other	As at 31 December
Raw materials	214 673	-53 052	-719	—	-43 626	-2 210	388	115 453
Consumables and spare parts	119 696	-2 067	-4 534	—	-6 107	-3 487	—	103 502
Work in progress	181 834	-18 603	-1 537	—	-6 540	-3 969	—	151 185
Finished goods	351 445	-28 449	-645	—	-19 899	-6 459	-388	295 606
Goods purchased for resale	275 448	-50 357	567	—	-100 017	-2 882		122 760
Inventories	1 143 096	-152 528	-6 868	—	-176 188	-19 006	—	788 506
Trade receivables	730 786	-74 554	1 673	78	-84 625	-20 368	—	552 989
Bills of exchange received	39 764	23 967	—	—	-5 477	-2 747	—	55 507
Advances paid	14 547	15 611	-102	—	-799	-545	—	28 712
Trade payables	-921 113	184 483	—	-568	84 151	20 096	—	-632 950
Advances received	-24 097	4 631	—	—	1 205	326	—	-17 935
Remuneration and social security payables	-122 300	-12 226	—	-32	7 490	2 275		-124 793
Employment-related taxes	-10 810	1 778	—	—	76	80	—	-8 876
Operating working capital	849 872	-8 837	-5 296	-522	-174 168	-19 888	—	641 161

¹ The organic increase or decrease represents the cash movements of the working capital, which are adjusted in the cash flow statement against purchase of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment for the variation of outstanding trade payables at year-end related to capital expenditure (2024: decrease of outstanding payables by € 9.9 million (2023: decrease of outstanding payables by € 3.3 million)).

			Write
		Organic increase	downs and write			Exchange
	As at 1	or	down	New		gains and		As at 31
in thousands of €	January	decrease ¹	reversals		consolidations Deconsolidations	losses	Other	December
Raw materials	115 453	12 988	1 020	5 526	—	1 782	—	136 770
Consumables and spare parts	103 502	-10 565	1 431	79	—	1 491	—	95 938
Work in progress	151 185	8 911	177	7 706	—	3 027		171 006
Finished goods	295 606	-1 648	208	1 025	—	4 960	—	300 150
Goods purchased for resale	122 760	4 583	2 375	138	—	267	—	130 123
Inventories	788 506	14 270	5 212	14 473	—	11 527	—	833 987
Trade receivables	552 989	-9 123	19 927	9 765	—	7 105	—	580 663
Bills of exchange received	55 507	-27 563	—	—	—	1 166	—	29 110
Advances paid	28 712	-1 737	-2 783	749	—	554		25 495
Trade payables	-632 950	-18 030	—	-5 671	—	-11 461	—	-668 111
Advances received	-17 935	7 416	—	-7 230	—	-417	—	-18 166
Remuneration and social security payables	-124 793	9 362	—	-1 215	—	-1 579	105	-118 121
Employment-related taxes	-8 876	-1 829	—	-938	—	-78	—	-11 722
Operating working capital	641 161	-27 234	22 356	9 932	—	6 817	105	653 136

¹ The organic increase or decrease represents the cash movements of the working capital, which are adjusted in the cash flow statement against purchase of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment for the variation of outstanding trade payables at year-end related to capital expenditure (2024: decrease of outstanding payables by € 9.9 million (2023: decrease of outstanding payables by € 3.3 million)).

The average working capital, weighted by the number of periods that an entity has contributed to the consolidated result, represented 16.5% of sales (2023: 15.2%).

• Inventories

The inventories increased by € 45.5 million compared to end last year, of which € 14.5 million due to the acquisition of Bexco NV (Belgium), the rest was mainly due to organic increases and currency effects. The cost of sales included expenses related to transport and handling of finished goods amounting to € 208.6 million (2023: € 193.9 million), which have never been capitalized in inventories. Movements in inventories in 2024 included write-downs of € -43.5 million (2023: € -42.4 million) and reversals of writedowns of € 48.7 million (2023: € 35.5 million). Similar as in 2023, in 2024, no inventories were pledged as security for liabilities.

• Trade receivables and bills of exchange received

The € 1.3 million increase in trade receivables and bills of exchange received in 2024 included reversals of write-downs of € 23.9 million (2023: € 3.9 million). The carrying amount of the trade receivables involved in the factoring program amounted to € 221.0 million (2023: € 231.5 million). The rest of the movement related to organic decreases, acquisition- and currency effects.

The following table presents the movements in the allowance for bad debt on trade receivables. No allowance was posted for bills of exchange received.

Trade receivables and bills of exchange received

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Gross amount	638 165	619 786
Allowance for bad debts (impaired)	-29 669	-10 013
specific allowance for bad debts	-26 882	-7 276
ECL allowance IFRS 9 for bad debts	-2 787	-2 737
Net carrying amount	608 497	609 773

More information about allowances of receivables is provided in the following table:

Allowance for bad debt

in thousands of €	2023	2024
As at 1 January	-39 891	-29 669
Losses recognized in current year	-3 570	-4 149
Losses recognized in prior years - amounts used	1 359	193
Losses recognized in prior years - reversal of amounts not used	3 884	23 883
Deconsolidations	7 052	—
Exchange gains and losses (-)	1 498	-283
As at 31 December	-29 669	-10 013

In accordance with the IFRS 9 "expected credit loss" model for financial assets, a ECL allowance IFRS 9 is made for trade receivables to cover the unknown bad debt risk at each reporting date. This ECL allowance IFRS 9 constitutes of a percentage on outstanding trade receivables at each reporting date. The percentages are taking into account historical information on losses on trade receivables and are reviewed year-on-year. For more information on credit enhancement techniques, see note 7.3. "Financial risk management and financial derivatives".

Trade payables increased by € -35.2 million compared to end last year and mainly reflected an organic evolution of € -15 million and negative FX translation effect of € -14 million. Effect of incoming entities was € -6 million.

As part of the Company's ongoing efforts to improve its working capital position, it continuously negotiates with its customers and suppliers on pricing, payment conditions and other terms. The purchase conditions that are agreed upon, are obtained in function of the Group's presence in the market, the Group's weight as a customer and its competitive position. In general, the Group's trade payables have a wide range of maturities depending on the type of material, the geographical area in which the purchase transaction occurs and the various contractual agreements. The invoice amounts arise from good and services in the normal cash operating cycle of the Group and are therefore an integral part of the working capital.

The Group offers for selected suppliers to participate in different supply chain finance models. This involves giving suppliers the option to receive early payment by selling their receivables to a financial institution at a discount. The Group pays at the time the invoice under the reverse factoring agreement is due. At year-end 2024, the outstanding trade payables linked to supply chain finance models amounted to € 45.0 million. The payments are presented in the cash flows from operating activities because they are considered a part of the Group's ordinary operating cycle and continue to be elements of its operating costs.

6.9. Other receivables

Carrying amount

in thousands of €	2023	2024
As at 1 January	151 426	103 089
Increase or decrease	-13 007	31 764
Write-downs (-) and write-down reversals	-1	23
New consolidations	103	1 129
Deconsolidations	-38 179	—
Reclassifications	—	122
Exchange gains and losses	2 747	-1 887
As at 31 December	103 089	134 240

Other receivables mainly related to income taxes (€ 48.7 million (2023: € 37.8 million)), VAT and other taxes (€ 76.2 million (2023: € 56.4 million)), loans to employees (€ 1.8 million (2023: € 1.7 million)) and dividends from joint ventures (€ 2.3 million (2023: € 4.3 million)). See also note 6.21. 'Tax positions'. Write-downs of other receivables are included in note 5.5. 'Other financial income and expense'. The deconsolidated other receivables in 2023 related to the disposal of the Steel Wire Solutions businesses in Chile and Peru.

6.10. Cash & cash equivalents and short term deposits

Carrying amount

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Cash & cash equivalents 631 687	504 384
Short-term deposits 1 238	2 312

The cash balance within the Russian entity amounts to € 7.3 million and is primarily used within the day to day cash flow and treasury activities in the local operational activities, and need to comply with local Russian legislation in case the cash would be used in cross border transactions.

For the changes in cash & cash equivalents, please refer to the consolidated cash flow statement and to note 7.1. 'Notes to the cash flow statement'.

Cash equivalents and short-term deposits did not include any listed securities or equity instruments at the balance sheet date.

6.11. Other current assets

Carrying amount

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Financial receivables and cash guarantees	1 575	1 633
Advances paid	28 712	25 495
Derivatives (cf.note 7.3.)	1 034	437
Deferred charges and accrued income	18 231	29 481
As at 31 December	49 553	57 047

The accrued interest revenues amounted to € 1.0 million (2023: €1.0 million). The cash guarantees amounted to € 0.6 million (2023: € 0.6 million).

The advances paid in the context of large capex projects and advance payments for deliveries of wire rod could be found in the Belgium, India, China, Vietnam and Czech Republic.

The increase in deferred charges mainly related to the leased on-site solar farm of Industrias del Ubierna SA (Spain).

6.12. Assets classified as held for sale and liabilities associated with those assets

Carrying amount (net)

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 760	12 337
Increases and decreases (-) 11 586	-2 522
Exchange gains and losses -9	9
As at 31 December 12 337	9 825
2023 in thousands of €	2024
Property, plant and equipment 12 337	9 825
Total assets classified as held for sale 12 337	9 825
Total liabilities associated with assets classified as held for sale —

The change in assets classified as held for sale included the classification as held for sale of the property in Ingelmunster (Belgium) due to imminent sale (€ 0.3 million) and removal from held for sale of the property in Deerlijk (Belgium) for which the external sale was realized during the course of 2024 (€ -2.9 million) (see also note 6.20 Other current liabilities).

As at 31 December 2024, fair value less costs to sell of the assets held for sale did not fall below the carrying value, hence no write-downs to the carrying amount of the assets was required.

6.13. Ordinary shares, treasury shares and equity-settled share-based payments

Issued capital		2023		2024
in thousands of €		Nominal value	Number of shares	Nominal value	Number of shares
1	As at 1 January	173 737	59 029 252	161 145	54 750 174
	Movements in the year
	Issue of new shares	—	—	—	—
	Cancellation of shares	-12 592	-4 279 078	-1 363	-463 188
	As at 31 December	161 145	54 750 174	159 782	54 286 986
2	Structure
2.1	Classes of ordinary shares
	Ordinary shares without par value	161 145	54 750 174	159 782	54 286 986
2.2	Registered shares		22 256 305		21 732 198
	Dematerialized shares		32 493 869		32 554 788
	Authorized capital not issued	177 792		177 792

On 31 December 2023, the Company held 2 156 137 own shares. Between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, Bekaert bought back 772 370 shares in total and cancelled 463 188 shares. This cancellation lead to a capital decrease of € 1 363 162. After the capital decrease, the capital was rounded up through a small capital increase without the issue of new shares (by € 162 in total and within the framework of the authorized capital).

On 22 November 2024, Bekaert announced that its Board of Directors had approved a new share buyback program for a total amount of up to € 200 million over a period of up to 24 months, under the authorization granted by Bekaert's Extraordinary General Meeting of 8 May 2024. The purpose of the program is to cancel all shares repurchased. The first tranche of the new program started on 22 November 2024 and ended on 21 February 2025. During the first tranche, Bekaert purchased 750 093 shares for an aggregate amount of € 25 million. The second tranche began on 28 February 2025.

In the same period, a total of 23 309 treasury shares were transferred to employees following the exercise of stock options under SOP 2010-2014 and SOP 2015-2017. Bekaert sold 4 558 shares to executive managers in the framework of the Bekaert personal shareholding requirement and transferred 11 482 shares to executive managers under the share-matching plan. A total of 10 323 shares were granted to the Chairman and other nonexecutive Directors as part of their remuneration for the performance of their duties. A total of 220 965 shares were disposed of following the vesting of 220 965 performance share units under the Bekaert performance share plan. Including the transactions exercised under the liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux which started on 1 July 2024, the balance of own shares held by the Company on 31 December 2024 was 2 235 087 (4.12% of the total share capital).

Stock option plans (SOP)

Details of the stock option plans which showed an outstanding balance either at the balance sheet date or at the previous balance sheet date, are as follows:

	Overview of SOP 2010-2014 Stock Option Plan

			Number of options			First	Last
Date offered	Date granted	Exercise price (in €)	Granted	Exercised		Forfeited Outstanding	exercise period	exercise period
18.12.2014	16.02.2015	26.055	349 810	331 300	18 510	—	End Feb. - 08.04.2018	Mid Nov. - 17.12.2024
			349 810	331 300	18 510	—

Overview of SOP 2015-2017 Stock Option Plan

Date	Date granted		Number of options				First	Last
offered		Exercise price (in €)	Granted	Exercised		Forfeited Outstanding	exercise period	exercise period
17.12.2015	15.02.2016	26.375	227 250	175 459	28 250	23 541	End Feb. - 07.04.2019	Mid Nov. - 16.12.2025
15.12.2016	13.02.2017	39.426	273 325	102 025	54 125	117 175	End Feb. - 12.04.2020	Mid Nov. - 14.12.2026
21.12.2017	20.02.2018	34.600	225 475	162 250	8 375	54 850	End Feb. - 11.04.2021	Mid Nov. - 20.12.2027
			726 050	439 734	90 750	195 566

	2023		2024
SOP 2010-2014 Stock Option Plan	Number of options	Weighted average exercise price (in €)	Number of options	Weighted average exercise price (in €)
Outstanding as at 1 January	191 800	24.300	2 100	26.055
Exercised during the year	-189 700	25.285	-2 100	26.055
Outstanding as at 31 December	2 100	26.055	—	—

	2023		2024
	Weighted average		Weighted average
SOP 2015-2017 Stock Option Plan	Number of options	exercise price (in €)	Number of options	exercise price (in €)
Outstanding as at 1 January	447 656	35.198	216 025	36.418
Exercised during the year	-224 631	34.738	-20 459	35.625
Outstanding as at 31 December	216 025	36.418	195 566	36.504

Weighted average remaining contractual life

in years	2023	2024
SOP 2010-2014	1.0	—
SOP 2015-2017	3.2	2.1

The weighted average share price at the date of exercise in 2024 was € 26.06 for the SOP 2010-2014 options (2023: € 25.29) and € 35.63 for the SOP 2015-2017 options (2023: € 34.74). The exercise price of the subscription rights and options is equal to the lower of (i) the average closing price of the Company's share during the thirty days preceding the date of the offer, and (ii) the last closing price preceding the date of the offer.

Under the terms of the SOP 2010-2014 stock option plan, options to acquire existing Company shares have been offered to the members of the Bekaert Group Executive, the Senior Vice Presidents and senior executive personnel during the period 2010-2014. The grant dates of each offering were scheduled in the period 2011-2015. The exercise price of the SOP 2010-2014 options was determined in the same manner as in the previous plans. The vesting conditions of the SOP 2010-2014 grants are such that the subscription rights or options will be fully vested on 1 January of the fourth year after the date of the offer.

The options granted under SOP 2010-2014 and SOP 2015-2017 are recognized at fair value at grant date in accordance with IFRS 2 (see note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'). The fair value of the options is determined using a binomial pricing model.

During 2024, no options (2023: no options) were granted under SOP 2015-2017. No expense against equity has been recorded in 2024 (2023: none).

Performance Share Plan (PSP)

The members of the Bekaert Group Executive, the senior management and a limited number of management staff members of the Company and a number of its subsidiaries received Performance Share Units: during 2019, 2020 and 2021 under the conditions of the Performance Share Plan 2018-2020 and in 2022, 2023 and 2024 under the conditions of the Performance Share Plan 2022-2024. These Performance Share Units will vest following a vesting period of three years, conditional to the achievement of a pre-set of performance targets. The performance targets were set by the Board of Directors, in line with the Company strategy. The vesting percentage can vary from 0% to 300%. At granting date, the assumption is taken that the grant will vest at a vesting percentage of 100%, the vesting percentage is reassessed for the expected performance at each balance sheet date, if needed the vesting percentage is adjusted based on that assessment. For more

information we refer to the "Remuneration Report" in the "Corporate Governance Statements" section of this report.

Overview of Performance Share Plan	Number of units
Date granted	Granted	Delivered	Forfeited	Outstanding	Expiry date
15.01.2021	144 708	110 651	34 057	—	31.12.2023
19.08.2021	15 101	13 062	2 039	—	31.12.2023
09.09.2021	7 966	7 966	—	—	31.12.2023
04.03.2022	131 407	—	26 347	105 060	31.12.2024
25.08.2022	3 209	—	238	2 971	31.12.2024
26.09.2022	12 864	—	—	12 864	31.12.2024
10.03.2023	139 141	—	16 813	122 328	31.12.2025
22.08.2023	4 843	—	1 128	3 715	31.12.2025
08.03.2024	107 976	—	10 041	97 935	31.12.2026
14.05.2024	6 092	—	—	6 092	31.12.2026
20.08.2024	7 714	—	—	7 714	31.12.2026
25.11.2024	9 826	—	—	9 826	31.12.2026
	590 847	131 679	90 663	368 505

The Performance Share Units granted under these plans are recognized at fair value at grant date in accordance with IFRS 2 (see note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'). The fair value of the Performance Share Units under the terms of the PSP plan is determined using a binomial pricing model, since the performance conditions are both market conditions (TSR) and non-market conditions (underlying EBITDA, ESG and operational cash flow). The ESG target includes CO2 reduction, sustainable solutions and safety (see ESRS 2 GOV-3). Inputs and outcome of this pricing model for the units granted in 2024 are detailed below:

	Vesting in December	Vesting in December	Vesting in December	Vesting in December
	2026	2026	2026	2026
Pricing model details - Performance Share Plan	Grant date March 2024	Grant date May 2024	Grant date August 2024	Grant date Nov 2024
Inputs to the model
Share price at start date (in €)	46.88	44.14	35.74	32.98
Historical volatility	25.05 %	24.53 %	23.71%	21.4%
Expected dividend yield	3.99 %	3.5 %	4.87%	5.99%
Vesting period (years)	3.00	3.00	3.00	3.00
Employee exit rate	0 %	0 %	0 %	0 %
Risk-free interest rate	2.76 %	3.08 %	2.56%	2.11%
Outcome of the model
Fair value (in €)	51.88	43.07	28.69	23.58
Outstanding performance share units	97 935	6 092	7 714	9 826

The grant in 2024 represented a fair value of € 6.3 million (2023: € 7.5 million). The Group has recorded an expense against equity of € 5.1 million in 2024 (2023: € 7.1 million).

	2023		2024
PSP	Number of units	Weighted average exercise price (in €)	Number of units	Weighted average exercise price (in €)
Outstanding as at 1 January	389 620	29.360	387 143	35.512
Granted during the year	143 984	42.584	132 348	48.000
Delivered during the year	-130 183	24.391	-131 679	30.740
Forfeited during the year	-16 278	39.739	-19 307	51.480
Outstanding as at 31 December	387 143	35.512	368 505	46.530

Personal Shareholding Requirement Plan (PSR)

In March 2016, the Company introduced a Personal Shareholding Requirement Plan for the Chief Executive Officer and the other members of the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE), pursuant to which they can build and maintain a personal shareholding in Company shares and whereby the acquisition of the number of Company shares is supported by a so-called Company matching mechanism. The Company matching mechanism provides that the Company will match the BGE member's investment in Company shares in year x, with a direct grant of a similar number of Company shares as acquired by the BGE member (such grant to be made at the end of year x + 2). These PSR units will vest following a vesting period of three years, conditional to a service condition subject to bad or good leaver conditions. For more information we refer to the "Remuneration Report" in the Corporate Governance Statements' section of this report.

Overview of Personal Shareholding Requirement Plan

		Number of units
Date acquired	Acquired	Matched	Forfeited	Outstanding	Expiry date
31.03.2022	13 757	10 471	3 286	—	31.12.2024
31.03.2023	4 742	865	814	3 063	31.12.2025
27.03.2024	4 958	146	694	4 118	31.12.2026
	23 457	11 482	4 794	7 181

The matching shares to be granted under the Personal Shareholding Requirement Plan 2016 are recognized at fair value at start date in accordance with IFRS 2 (see note 6.14. 'Retained earnings and other Group reserves'). The fair value of the matching shares is determined using a binomial pricing model. Inputs and outcome of this pricing model are detailed below:

	To be matched in December 2024	To be matched in December 2025	To be matched in December 2026
Pricing model details - Personal Shareholding Requirement plan	Start date March 2022	Start date March 2023	Start date March 2024
Inputs to the model
Share price at start date (in €)	35.48	41.60	47.22
Expected volatility	37.37%	—%	—%
Expected dividend yield	4.89%	4.17%	4.45%
Vesting period (years)	2.75	2.75	2.75
Employee exit rate	— %	— %	— %
Risk-free interest rate	1.27%	3.19%	2.83%
Outcome of the model
Fair value (in €)	6.48	37.02	41.68
Outstanding PSR Units	—	3 063	4 118

The matching shares to be granted represented a fair value of € 0.3 million (2023: € 0.2 million). The Group has recorded an expense against equity of € 0.1 million (2023: € 0.2 million) for the matching shares to be granted, based on their fair value and vesting period.

Number of units - PSR 2023	2024
Outstanding as at 1 January 17 342	16 902
Matched during the year -4 554	-11 482
Forfeited during the year -628	-3 197
Acquired during the year 4 742	4 958
Outstanding as at 31 December 16 902	7 181

Stock grant Board members

The fixed fee of the Chairman of the Board is paid in Company shares, subject to a three-year holding period from grant date. For the other non-executive Directors, the fixed fee for performance of duties as a member of the Board are paid in cash, but with the option each year to receive part (0%, 25% or 50%) in Company shares. In accordance with IFRS 2 this is treated as a share-based payment award with a cash alternative. The fair value of the stock grant are equal to the share price at grant date, being 31 May 2024 (€ 43.24) (being 31 May 2023: € 40.02). This stock grant vested immediately and represented a fair value of € 0.4 million (2023: € 0.4 million). The Group has recorded an expense against equity of € 0.4 million (2023: € 0.4 million).

6.14. Retained earnings and other group reserves

Carrying amount

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Revaluation reserve for non-consolidated equity investments -11 175	-3 452
Remeasurement reserve for defined-benefit plans -27 820	-7 531
NCI put option reserve -1 691	-1 691
Deferred tax reserve 22 381	17 836
Other reserves -18 305	5 161
Cumulative translation adjustments -124 533	-114 111
Total other Group reserves -142 838	-108 950
Treasury shares -76 896	-81 502
Retained earnings 2 131 937	2 249 232

In the following sections of this disclosure, the movements in the Group reserves and in retained earnings are presented and commented.

Revaluation reserve for non-consolidated equity investments

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January -8 353	-11 175
Changes in Group structure —	-1 262
Fair value changes -2 822	8 985
As at 31 December -11 175	-3 452
Of which
Investment in Xinyu Xinsteel Metal Products Co Ltd —	-1 093
Investment in Shougang Concord Century Holdings Ltd -10 541	-2 674
Other investments -634	315

The revaluation of the investment in Shougang Concord Century Holdings Ltd is based on the closing price of the share on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. See also note 6.6. 'Other non-current assets'.

Remeasurement reserve for defined-benefit plans

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January -12 660	-27 820
Remeasurements of the period -15 038	20 289
Equity reclassification -123	—
As at 31 December -27 820	-7 532

The remeasurements originate from using different actuarial assumptions in calculating the defined-benefit obligation, from differences with actual returns on plan assets at the balance sheet date and any changes in unrecognized assets due to the asset ceiling principle (see note 6.16. 'Employee benefit obligations').

NCI put option reserve

The "NCI put option reserve" consists of a liability of € 1.7 million that has been set up at fair value versus equity, which represents the put option granted to the remaining shareholders of Flintstone Technology Ltd on their remaining non-controlling interests in that same entity. Any subsequent changes in fair value of this financial liability are recognized through income statement in accordance with IFRS.

Deferred tax reserve

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 18 381	22 381
Deferred taxes relating to other comprehensive income 4 000	-4 546
As at 31 December 22 381	17 836

Deferred taxes relating to other comprehensive income are also recognized in OCI (see note 6.7. 'Deferred tax assets and liabilities').

Cumulative translation adjustments

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January -93 820	-124 533
Exchange differences on dividends declared -2 328	-10 870
Recycled to income statement - relating to disposed entities or liquidations 8 570	—
Movements arising from exchange rate fluctuations -36 955	21 292
As at 31 December -124 533	-114 111
Of which relating to entities with following functional currencies
Chinese renminbi 97 682	113 777
US dollar 31 605	59 047
Brazilian real -178 881	-220 739
Chilean peso -8 540	-9 192
Venezuelan bolivar soberano ¹ -59 691	-59 691
Indian rupee -13 679	-10 863
Czech koruna 11 456	10 542
British pound -5 664	5 747
Russian ruble 5 231	7 766
Romenian leu -4 249	-4 234
Other currencies 197	-6 272

¹ As a consequence of the functional currency switch to the US dollar on 1 January 2019, the value related to Venezuelan bolivar soberano remains frozen.

The volatility in CTA reflected both the exchange rate evolution and the relative importance of the net assets denominated in the presented currencies.

Treasury shares
in thousands of €	2023	2024
As at 1 January	-139 314	-76 896
Shares purchased	-120 552	-37 178
Shares sold	29 840	17 266
Price difference on shares sold	-6 824	-5 921
Cancellations	159 953	21 228
As at 31 December	-76 896	-81 502

The number of shares on hand were sufficient, both to anticipate any dilution and to hedge the cash flow risk on share-based payment plans. In 2024 a total of 961 228 additional shares were bought back including the transactions exercised under the liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux (2023: 2 888 601). A total of 463 188 were cancelled. A total of 419 090 treasury shares were sold to the beneficiaries of the share-based payment plans of the Group and under the liquidity agreement with Kepler Cheuvreux (2023: 833 861). Treasury shares are accounted for using the FIFO principle (first-in, first-out). Gains and losses on disposals of treasury shares are directly recognized through retained earnings (see movements in retained earnings below). See also note 6.13. 'Ordinary shares, treasury shares and equity-settled share-based payments'.

Retained earnings

in thousands of €	Notes	2023	2024
As at 1 January (as reported)		2 115 216	2 131 937
Equity-settled share-based payments	6.13	-8 919	-15 170
Result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert		254 619	238 904
Dividends		-88 564	-93 758
Equity reclassification		122	—
Treasury shares transactions	6.13	-140 536	-13 943
Changes in Group structure		—	1 262
As at 31 December		2 131 937	2 249 232

Treasury shares transactions (€ -13.9 million vs € -140.5 million in 2023) represented the difference between the proceeds and the FIFO book value of the shares that were sold and cancelled.

6.15. Non-controlling interests

Carrying amount

2023 in thousands of €	2024
As at 1 January 136 850	53 164
Changes in Group structure -76 995	—
Share of the result for the period -1 738	4 661
Share of other comprehensive income excluding CTA -99	371
Dividend pay-out -4 754	-5 189
Exchange gains and losses (-) -100	682
As at 31 December 53 164	53 689

The changes in Group structure in 2023 mainly related to the disposal of the Steel Wire Solutions businesses in Chile and Peru. And to a much lesser extend also the disposal of the Group's share in Agro-Bekaert Colombia and Agro-Bekaert Springs in Spain, offset in part by the minority interest related to the acquisition of Flintstone Technology Ltd (UK).

The share in the result of the period for entities in which NCI are held, increased significantly. The main contributing entities were located in China and the "Andina" region.

In accordance with IFRS 12 'Disclosures of Interests in Other Entities', following information is provided on subsidiaries that have non-controlling interests that are material to the Group. The objective of IFRS 12 is to require an entity to disclose information that enables users of its financial statements to evaluate (a) the nature and risks associated with its interests in other entities, and (b) the effects of those interests on its financial position, financial performance and cash flows. Bekaert has several partnerships across the world, most entities of which would not individually meet any reasonable materiality criterion. Therefore, the Group has identified a non-wholly owned group of entities which are interconnected through their line of business and shareholder structure: the SWS entities in the "Andina" (Andean) region, where the non-controlling interests are mainly held by the Ecuadorian Kohn family and ArcelorMittal. In presenting aggregated information for this entity group, only intercompany effects within the entity group have been eliminated, while all other entities of the Group have been treated as third parties.

		Proportion of NCI at year-end
Entities included in material NCI disclosure	Country	2023	2024
SWS entities Andina region
Bekaert Ideal SL	Spain	20.0%	20.0%
Bekaert Guatemala SA	Guatemala	41.6%	41.6%
Servicios Ideal AGF Inttegra Cia. Ltda	Ecuador	70.8%	70.8%
BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA	Costa Rica	41.6%	41.6%
Ideal Alambrec SA	Ecuador	41.6%	41.6%
InverVicson SA	Venezuela	20.0%	20.0%
Productora de Alambres Colombianos Proalco SAS	Colombia	60.0%	60.0%
Vicson SA	Venezuela	20.0%	20.0%

The principal activity of the main entities listed above is manufacturing and selling steel wire and steel wire products, mainly for the local market. Bekaert Ideal SL is essentially a holding, having interests in the other entities listed above.

The following table shows the relative importance of the entity group with material NCI in terms of results and equity attributable to NCI.

Material and other NCI	Result attributable to NCI		Equity attributable to NCI
in thousands of €	2023	2024	2023	2024
SWS entities Andina region	-243	2 278	22 451	22 643
Consolidation adjustments on material NCI	-176	126	319	446
Contribution of material NCI to consolidated NCI	-419	2 404	22 770	23 089
Other NCI	-1 319	2 257	30 394	30 600
Total consolidated NCI	-1 738	4 661	53 164	53 689

The following tables show concise basic statements of the non-wholly owned group of entities.

SWS entities Andina region

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Current assets	91 293	97 960
Non-current assets	53 205	50 979
Current liabilities	84 170	88 903
Non-current liabilities	9 572	7 797
Equity attributable to equity holders of Bekaert	28 304	29 595
Equity attributable to NCI	22 451	22 643

SWS entities Andina region

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Sales	227 279	199 367
Expenses	-228 613	-194 770
Result for the period	-1 334	4 597
Result for the period attributable to equity holders of Bekaert	-1 090	2 319
Result for the period attributable to NCI	-243	2 278
Other comprehensive income for the period	1 773	1 132
OCI attributable to equity holders of Bekaert	458	892
OCI attributable to NCI	1 315	240
Total comprehensive income for the period	439	5 729
Total comprehensive income attributable to equity holders of Bekaert	-632	3 211
Total comprehensive income attributable to NCI	1 072	2 518
Dividends paid to NCI	-1 646	-2 178
Net cash inflow (outflow) from operating activities	22 351	17 899
Net cash inflow (outflow) from investing activities	-6 040	-1 501
Net cash inflow (outflow) from financing activities	-18 124	-13 951
Net cash inflow (outflow)	-1 813	2 447

Sales in 2024 were 12.3% lower compared to last year. Due to a bigger decrease in cost of sales, the underlying EBIT margin on sales improved from 4.7% last year to 6.5% this year. Decreased interest bearing debt combined with a net working capital decrease and increase in EBITDA resulted in a decrease of the net debt position.

The situation of Vicson SA (Venezuela) remains under control. The company manages to source an adequate amount of wire rod to keep its operations going, albeit at a subdued level. Furthermore, the access to US dollar has become more flexible in the country, enabling invoicing to customers in that currency. Its cash & cash equivalents and short-term deposits amounted to € 1.3 million at 31 December 2024 (compared to € 0.2 million at 31 December 2023).

6.16. Employee benefit obligations

The total net liabilities for employee benefit obligations, which amounted to € 153.1 million as at 31 December 2024 (€ 186.4 million as at year-end 2023), are as follows:

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Liabilities for
Post-employment defined-benefit plans 55 080	43 436
Other long-term employee benefits 5 696	7 252
Cash-settled share-based payment employee benefits 4 590	1 324
Short-term employee benefits 124 793	118 121
Termination benefits 7 216	3 151
Total liabilities in the balance sheet 197 375	173 283
of which
Non-current liabilities 57 107	46 463
Current liabilities 140 269	126 820
Assets for
Defined-benefit pension plans -11 019	-20 217
Total assets in the balance sheet -11 019	-20 217
Total net liabilities 186 356	153 066

Post-employment benefit plans

In accordance with IAS 19, 'Employee benefits', plans are classified as either defined-contribution plans or defined-benefit plans.

Defined-contribution plans

For defined-contribution plans, Bekaert pays contributions to publicly or privately administered pension funds or insurance companies. Once the contributions have been paid, the Group has no further payment obligation. These contributions constitute an expense for the year in which they are due.

The Belgian defined-contribution pension plans are by law subject to minimum guaranteed rates of return. Pension legislation defines the minimum guaranteed rate of return as a variable percentage linked to government bond yields observed in the market as from 1 January 2016 onwards. As of 2016 the minimum guaranteed rate of return became 1.75% on both employer contributions and employee contributions. Per 1 January 2025, the guaranteed interest rate will increase to 2.5%. This increase was already included in the calculations of the future obligations. The old rates (3.25% on employer contributions and 3.75% on employee contributions) continue to apply to the accumulated past contributions in the group insurance as at 31 December 2015. As a consequence, the defined-contribution plans are reported as defined-benefit obligations at year-end, whereby an actuarial valuation was performed.

Bekaert participates in a multi-employer defined-benefit plan in the Netherlands funded through the Pensioenfonds Metaal & Techniek (PMT). This plan is treated as a defined-contribution plan because no sufficient information is available with respect to the plan assets attributable to Bekaert to apply definedbenefit accounting. Contributions for the plan amounted to € 0.7 million (2023: € 1 million). Employer contributions are set periodically by PMT, they are equal for all participating companies and are expressed as a percentage of pensionable salary. Bekaert's total contribution represents less than 0.1% of the overall PMT contribution. The financing rules specify that an employer is not obliged to pay any further contributions in respect of previously accrued benefits. The funded status of PMT was 108.6% at 31 December 2024 (2023: 105.5%). There is no obligation for participating companies to fund any deficit of PMT (nor to receive any surplus).

Defined-contribution plans

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Expenses recognized	15 599	15 551

Defined-benefit plans

Several Bekaert companies operate retirement benefit and other post-employment benefit plans. These plans generally cover all employees and provide benefits which are related to salary and length of service.

The latest actuarial valuations under IAS 19 were carried out as of 31 December 2024 for all significant postemployment defined-benefit plans by independent actuaries. The Group's largest defined-benefit obligations were in Belgium, the United States and the United Kingdom. They accounted for 89.9% (2023: 89.2%) of the Group's defined-benefit obligations and 99.4% (2023: 99.4%) of the Group's plan assets.

Plans in Belgium

The funded plans in Belgium mainly related to retirement plans representing a defined-benefit obligation of € 187 million (2023: € 185.6 million) and € 204.9 million assets (2023: € 192.9 million). This is including the related plans funded through a group insurance.

The traditional defined-benefit plans foresee in a lump sum payment upon retirement and in risk benefits in case of death or disability prior to retirement. The plans are externally funded through two self-administrated institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORP). On a regular basis, an Asset Liability Matching (ALM) study is performed in which the consequences of strategic investment policies are analyzed in terms of riskand-return profiles. The last ALM study was performed in 2024. Statement of investment principles and funding policy are derived from this study. The purpose is to have a well-diversified asset allocation to control the risk. Investment risk and liability risk are monitored on a quarterly basis. Funding policy targets to be at least fully funded in terms of the technical provision (this is a prudent estimate of the pension liabilities).

Plans in the United States

The funded plans in the United States mainly related to pension plans representing a defined-benefit obligation of € 96.1 million (2023: € 96.1 million) and assets of € 93.3 million (2023: € 87.3 million). The plans provide for benefits for the life of the plan members but have been closed for new entrants. Plan assets are invested, in fixed-income funds and in equities. Funding policy targets to be sufficiently funded in terms of Pension Protection Act requirements and thus to avoid benefit restrictions or at-risk status of the plans.

Unfunded plans included medical care plans (defined-benefit obligation € 2.5 million (2023: € 2.0 million)).

Plans in the United Kingdom

The funded plan in the United Kingdom related to a pension scheme closed for new entrants and further accrual representing a defined-benefit obligation of € 51.3 million (2023: € 55.4 million) and assets of € 54 million (2023: € 59.4 million). As of January 1st 2023, the governance set up has been changed and a Sole Trustee has been appointed. The Sole Trustee is required by law to act in the interest of all relevant beneficiaries and is responsible for the investment policy with regard to the assets plus the day-to-day administration of the benefits. The strike-off of the Bridon Scheme Trustees Limited (the separate board of Trustees) was finalized on January 2nd, 2024.

The defined-benefit obligation solely includes benefits for deferred vested members (members whose employment has terminated and have not yet reached the eligible retirement age for drawing a pension) and pensioners (members who are already receiving pension as they have reached the eligible retirement age). Broadly, about 60% of the liabilities are attributable to deferred vested members and 40% to pensioners (2023: 40% pensioners).

No allowance was made for the potential impact of the Virgin Media case since Legal Advice shows that amendments made to the scheme are in compliance with the requirements of section 37 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993.

UK legislation requires that pension schemes are funded prudently. The last funding valuation of the scheme carried out as at 31 December 2022 and finalized in 2024, by a qualified actuary showed a surplus of € 0.8 million. Based on the outcome of the valuation, no deficit repair contributions are payable by the Company to the Scheme.

The Trustee and the Company have agreed on a long-term funding target for the Scheme. Per Dec 31st, the scheme was still on track, thus no Company contributions were due to meet this long term funding target.

Administration costs are reported separately from IAS 19.

The amounts recognized in the balance sheet are as follows:

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Belgium
Present value of funded obligations	185 581	187 037
Fair value of plan assets	-192 972	-204 948
Deficit / surplus (-) of funded obligations	-7 391	-17 911
Present value of unfunded obligations	963	816
Total deficit / surplus (-) of obligations	-6 428	-17 095
United States
Present value of funded obligations	96 065	96 148
Fair value of plan assets	-87 268	-93 340
Deficit / surplus (-) of funded obligations	8 797	2 807
Present value of unfunded obligations	6 089	4 143
Total deficit / surplus (-) of obligations	14 886	6 950
United Kingdom
Present value of funded obligations	55 369	51 290
Fair value of plan assets	-59 471	-53 964
Deficit / surplus (-) of funded obligations	-4 102	-2 674
Present value of unfunded obligations	—	—
Total deficit / surplus (-) of obligations	-4 102	-2 674
Other
Present value of funded obligations	3 644	5 101
Fair value of plan assets	-2 089	-2 301
Deficit / surplus (-) of funded obligations	1 555	2 801
Present value of unfunded obligations	38 150	33 237
Total deficit / surplus (-) of obligations	39 705	36 038
Total
Present value of funded obligations	340 659	339 576
Fair value of plan assets	-341 800	-354 553
Deficit / surplus (-) of funded obligations	-1 141	-14 977
Present value of unfunded obligations	45 202	38 196
Total deficit / surplus (-) of obligations	44 061	23 219

The movement in the defined-benefit obligation, plan assets, net liability and asset over the year were as follows:

	Defined benefit		Net liability /
in thousands of €	obligation	Plan assets	asset (-)
As at 1 January 2023	397 441	-343 724	53 717
Current service cost	13 093	—	13 093
Past service cost	2 733	—	2 733
Gains (-) / losses from settlements	-8 589	6 339	-2 250
Interest expense / income (-)	16 694	-15 020	1 674
Net benefit expense / income (-) recognized in profit and loss	23 931	-8 681	15 250
Components recognized in EBIT			13 576
Components recognized in financial result			1 884
Remeasurements
Return on plan assets, excluding amounts included in interest expense / income (-)	—	-5 305	-5 305
Gain (-) / loss from change in demographic assumptions	-334	—	-334
Gain (-) / loss from change in financial assumptions	7 917	—	7 917
Experience gains (-) / losses	12 722	—	12 722
Changes recognized in equity	20 305	-5 305	15 000
Contributions
Employer contributions / direct benefit payments	—	-17 590	-17 590
Employee contributions	79	-79	—
Payments from plans
Benefit payments	-31 467	31 467	—
Reclassifications	-1 516	—	-1 516
Disposals	-15 107	—	-15 107
Foreign-currency translation effect	-7 805	2 112	-5 693
Per 31 December 2023	385 861	-341 800	44 061

	Defined benefit		Net liability /
in thousands of €	obligation	Plan assets	asset (-)
As at 1 January 2024	385 861	-341 800	44 061
Current service cost	14 857	—	14 857
Past service cost	1 056	—	1 056
Gains (-) / losses from settlements	-1 426	1 086	-340
Interest expense / income (-)	16 086	-13 398	2 688
Net benefit expense / income (-) recognized in profit and loss	30 573	-12 313	18 260
Components recognized in EBIT			15 573
Components recognized in financial result			2 688
Remeasurements
Return on plan assets, excluding amounts included in interest expense / income (-)	—	-9 476	-9 476
Gain (-) / loss from change in demographic assumptions	1 279	—	1 279
Gain (-) / loss from change in financial assumptions	-16 179	—	-16 179
Experience gains (-) / losses	3 873	—	3 873
Changes recognized in equity	-11 026	-9 476	-20 502
Contributions
Employer contributions / direct benefit payments	—	-18 757	-18 757
Employee contributions	81	-81	—
Payments from plans
Benefit payments	-36 207	36 207	—
Foreign-currency translation effect	8 491	-8 334	157
As at 31 December 2024	377 773	-354 554	23 219

Gains and losses from settlements in 2024 mainly related to the early retirement wave in Turkey driven by less stringent eligibility requirements for state pension published in 2023. This has lead to a large group of employees applying for early retirement. In addition, there were settlement payments in Indonesia linked to restructurings. Past service cost was driven by the restructuring in Indonesia leading to enhanced benefits.

In the income statement, current and past service cost, including gains or losses from settlements are included in the operating result (EBIT), and interest expense or income is included in interest expense, under interest element of interest-bearing provisions.

Changes recognized in equity amounted in 2024 to € 20.5 million and were driven by € 9.5 million gain on plan assets reflecting positive asset return and € 11.0 million gains in defined benefit obligation. The latter can be broken down into € 16.2 million gain due to changes in financial assumptions reflecting increased discount rates, € 1.2 million loss due to changes in demographic assumptions and € 3.9 million loss in liabilities due to experience adjustments.

Reimbursement rights arising from reinsurance contracts covering retirement pensions, death and disability benefits in Germany amounted to less than € 0.1 million (2023: less than € 0.1 million).

Estimated contributions and direct benefit payments for 2025 are as follows:

Estimated contributions and direct benefit payments

in thousands of €	2025
Pension plans	11 165

Fair values of plan assets at 31 December were as follows:

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Belgium
Bonds	57 563	59 911
Equity	75 714	81 496
Cash	2 463	5 993
Insurance contracts	57 232	57 548
Total Belgium	192 972	204 948
United States
Bonds
USD Long Duration Bonds	34 810	35 275
USD Fixed Income	15 065	18 142
USD Guaranteed Deposit	4 771	1 581
Equity
USD Equity	11 606	15 393
Non-USD Equity	7 296	7 720
Real estate	13 720	15 229
Total United States	87 268	93 340
United Kingdom
Bonds	12 622	19 138
Derivatives	40 213	29 918
Equity	6 208	4 735
Cash	428	174
Total United Kingdom	59 471	53 965
Other
Bonds	2 089	2 301
Total Other	2 089	2 301
Total	341 800	354 554

In the US, investments are primarily made through mutual fund investments and insurance company separate accounts, in quoted equity and debt instruments. In Belgium, the investments are made through mutual fund investments in quoted equity and debt instruments. Investments are well-diversified so that the failure of any single investment would not have a material impact on the overall level of assets. In UK, a large proportion of assets is invested in liability driven investments and bonds.

The Group's plan assets include no direct positions in Bekaert shares or bonds, nor do they include any property used by a Bekaert entity.

The principal actuarial assumptions on the balance sheet date (weighted averages based on outstanding DBO) were:

Actuarial assumptions 2023	2024
Discount rate 4.4%	4.6%
Future salary increases 3.9%	3.7%
Underlying inflation rate 2.9%	2.5%
Health care cost increases (initial) 7.3%	7.5%
Health care cost increases (ultimate) 5.0%	5.0%
Health care (years to ultimate rate) 9	9

The discount rate for the UK, the US and Belgium is reflective both of the current interest rate environment and the plan's distinct liability characteristics. The plan's projected cash flows are matched to spot rates, after which an associated present value is developed. A single equivalent discount rate is then determined that produces that same present value. The underlying yield curve for deriving spot rates is based on high quality AA-credit rated corporate bonds issues denominated in the currency of the applicable regional market.

This resulted into the following discount rates:

Discount rates 2023	2024
Belgium 3.2%	3.4%
United States 5.0%	5.5%
United Kingdom 4.7%	5.6%
Other 8.0%	7.1%

This resulted into the following inflation rates:

Inflation rates	2023	2024
Belgium	2.2%	2.0%
United States	N/A	N/A
United Kingdom	3.2%	3.3%
Other	6.9%	4.3%
Total	2.9%	2.5%

Assumptions regarding future mortality are based on actuarial advice in accordance with published statistics and experience in each territory. These assumptions translated into the following average life expectancy in years for a pensioner retiring at age 65.

	2023	2024
Life expectancy of a man aged 65 (years) at balance sheet date	20.2	20.3
Life expectancy of a woman aged 65 (years) at balance sheet date	22.8	22.9
Life expectancy of a man aged 65 (years) ten years after balance sheet date	20.9	20.9
Life expectancy of a woman aged 65 (years) ten years after balance sheet date	23.6	23.9

Sensitivity analyses show the following effects:

Sensitivity analysis

in thousands of €	Change in assumption		Impact on defined-benefit obligation
Discount rate	-0.50 %	Increase by	14 891	4.7 %
Salary growth rate	0.50 %	Increase by	3 422	1.1 %
Health care cost	0.50 %	Increase by	81	— %
Life expectancy	1 year	Increase by	4 302	1.4 %

The above analyses were done on a mutually exclusive basis, while holding all other assumptions constant.

Through its defined-benefit plans, the Group is exposed to a number of risks, the most significant of which are detailed below:

Asset volatility	The plan liabilities are calculated using a discount rate set with reference to corporate bond yields; if plan assets underperform this yield, this will create a deficit.
Changes in bond yields	A decrease in corporate bond yields will increase plan liabilities, although this will be partially offset by an increase in the value of the plans' bond holdings.
Salary risk	The majority of the plans' benefit obligations are calculated by reference to the future salaries of plan members. As such, a salary increase of plan members higher than expected will lead to higher liabilities.
Longevity risk	Belgian pension plans provide for lump sum payments upon retirement. As such, there is limited or no longevity risk. Pension plans in the USA and UK provide for benefits for the life of the plan members, so increases in life expectancy will result in an increase in the plans' liabilities.

The weighted average durations of the defined-benefit obligations were as follows:

Weighted average durations of the DBO

2023 in years	2024
Belgium 11.2	10.8
United States 8.5	8.8
United Kingdom 15.4	14.1
Other 9.2	9.3
Total 10.9	10.6

Termination benefits

Termination benefits are cash and other services paid to employees when their employment has been terminated.

Other long-term employee benefits

The other long-term employee benefits related to service awards.

Cash-settled share-based payment employee benefits

Stock appreciation rights (SAR)

The Group issues stock appreciation rights (SARs) for certain management employees, granting them the right to receive the intrinsic value of the SARs at the date of exercise. These SARs are accounted for as cash-settled share-based payments in accordance with IFRS 2. The fair value of each grant is recalculated at balance sheet date, using a binomial pricing model. Based on local regulations, the exercise price for any grant under the USA SAR plan is equal to the average closing price of the Company's share during the thirty days following the date of the offer. The exercise price for the other SAR plans is determined in the same way as for the equity-settled stock option plans: it is equal to the lower of (i) the average closing price of the Company's share during the thirty days preceding the date of the offer, and (ii) the last closing price preceding the date of the offer.

Following inputs to the model are used for all grants: share price at balance sheet date: € 33.46 (2023: € 46.52), expected volatility in a range between 20% and 27% (2023: 21%-34%), expected dividend yield in a range between 6.0% and 7.0% (2023: 3.6%-4.0%), vesting period of 3 years and a contractual life of 10 years. Inputs for risk-free interest rates vary by grant and are based on the return of Belgian OLO's (Obligation Linéaire / Lineaire Obligatie) with a term equal to the maturity of the SAR grant under consideration.

Exercise prices and fair values of outstanding SARs by grant are shown below:

USA SAR Plan details by grant

in €	Granted	Exercise price	Fair value as at 31 December 2023	Fair value as at 31 December 2024
Grant 2014	36 800	25.66	—	—
Grant 2015	40 200	25.45	21.07	—
Grant 2016	20 250	28.38	18.27	5.27
Grant 2017	26 375	38.86	10.79	1.32
Grant 2018	16 875	37.06	14.12	3.14

Other SAR Plans details by grant

in €	Granted	Exercise price	Fair value as at 31 December 2023	Fair value as at 31 December 2024
Grant 2014	54 800	25.38	—	—
Grant 2015	44 700	26.06	20.47	—
Grant 2016	38 500	26.38	20.15	7.09
Grant 2017	53 000	39.43	10.79	1.22
Grant 2018	37 500	34.60	15.39	3.86

At 31 December 2024, the total liability for the US SAR plan amounted to € 0.03 million (2023: € 0.2 million), while the total liability for the other SAR plans amounted to € 0.03 million (2023: € 0.1 million).

The Group recorded a total income of € 0.2 million (2023: income of € 0.0 million) during the year in respect of SARs.

Performance Share Units (PSU)

Certain management employees received cash-settled Performance Share Units (PSUs) entitling the beneficiary to receive the value of Performance Share Units: during 2019, 2020 and 2021 under the conditions of the Performance Share Plan 2018-2020 and during 2024 under the conditions of the Performance Share Plan 2022-2024. These Performance Share Units will vest following a vesting period of three years, conditional to the achievement of a pre-set performance target. The performance target was set by the Board of Directors, in line with the Company strategy, and can vary from 0% to 300%. At granting date, the assumption is taken that the grant will vest at a vesting percentage of 100%, the performance target is reassessed for the expected performance at each balance sheet date, if needed the vesting percentage is adjusted based on that assessment.

These Performance Share Units are accounted for as cash-settled share-based payments in accordance with IFRS 2. The fair value of each grant is a weighted combination of the fair value of the non-market performance conditions and the fair value of the market conditions. The fair value of the non-market performance conditions (Underlying EBITDA and operational cash flow) is equal to the share price at balance sheet date. The fair value of the market condition (TSR) is recalculated at balance sheet data using the same binomial pricing model as for the equity-settled share-based payments (see note 6.12. 'Ordinary shares, treasury shares and equity settled share based payments').

Performance Share Units details by grant

in €	Granted	Fair value as at 31 December 2023	Fair value as at 31 December 2024
Grant 2021	4 567	46.52	—
Grant 2022	24 832	61.89	31.12
Grant 2023	33 974	58.61	33.36
Grant 2024	29 336	—	23.84

At 31 December 2024, the total liability for the US PSUs amounted to € 0.5 million (2023: € 1.2 million), while the total liability for the other PSUs amounted to € 0.8 million (2023: € 3.1 million).

The Group recorded a total cost of € 0.7 million (2023: cost of € 2.8 million) during the year in respect of PSUs.

Short-term employee benefit obligations

Short-term employee benefit obligations relate to liabilities for remuneration and social security that are due within twelve months after the end of the period in which the employees render the related service.

6.17. Provisions

in thousands of €	Restructuring	Claims	Environment	Other	Total
As at 1 January 2023	30	5 565	20 053	8 430	34 079
Additional provisions	2 771	7 030	3 597	684	14 082
Unutilized amounts released	-775	-2 966	-744	-4 381	-8 866
Increase in present value	—	—	—	—	—
Charged to the income statement	1 996	4 064	2 853	-3 697	5 216
Amounts utilized during the year	-1 707	-3 482	-3 129	-672	-8 989
Deconsolidations	—	—	-24	—	-24
Exchange gains (-) and losses	—	-71	-21	-51	-143
As at 31 December 2023	319	6 077	19 733	4 010	30 138
Of which
current	—	3 356	704	283	4 344
non-current - between 1 and 5 years	319	2 721	8 128	3 651	14 818
non-current - more than 5 years	—	—	10 900	76	10 976

in thousands of €	Restructuring	Claims	Environment	Other	Total
As at 1 January 2024	319	6 077	19 733	4 010	30 138
Additional provisions	9 012	6 135	2 872	2 655	20 674
Unutilized amounts released	-327	-2 524	-2 988	-772	-6 611
Increase in present value	—	—	—	—	—
Charged to the income statement	8 685	3 611	-116	1 883	14 063
Amounts utilized during the year	-1 442	-3 645	-493	-1 164	-6 744
Deconsolidations	—	—	—	—	—
Exchange gains (-) and losses	26	132	-19	-74	65
As at 31 December 2024	7 588	6 175	19 105	4 655	37 522
Of which
current	6 398	4 148	705	136	11 387
non-current - between 1 and 5 years	1 189	2 027	7 500	4 519	15 235
non-current - more than 5 years	—	—	10 900	—	10 900

Following the announcements of reorganization of activities in Wetteren (Belgium) and Assen (The Netherlands) and the decision to close the Grangemouth site in Scotland, provisions for restructuring have been set up.

Provisions for claims mainly related to product warranty programs and various product quality claims in several entities, mainly in the UK, China and Turkey. The increase in 2024 is related to a higher amount of quality claims in the UK, the US and China and additional claims in Turkey regarding personnel related matters.

The environmental provisions mainly related to sites in EMEA. The expected soil sanitation costs are reviewed at each balance sheet date, based on external expert assessments. Timing of settlement is uncertain as it is often triggered by decisions on the destination of the premises. The increase in the environmental provisions mainly relate to a new provision linked to the disposal of the Figline plant, offset by the utilization and release of environmental provisions linked to sites in Italy and Belgium.

6.18. Interest-bearing debt

An analysis of the carrying amount of the Group's interest-bearing debt by contractual maturity is presented below:

2023
in thousands of €	Due within 1 year	Due between 1 and 5 years	Due after 5 years	Total
Interest-bearing debt
Lease liability	21 570	44 264	20 876	86 710
Cash guarantees received	—	146	15	160
Credit institutions	230 713	50 000	—	280 713
Schuldschein loans	—	131 352	—	131 352
Bonds	—	400 000	—	400 000
Total financial debt	252 283	625 761	20 890	898 934

2024

	Due within 1	Due between	Due after 5
in thousands of €	year	1 and 5 years	years	Total
Interest-bearing debt
Lease liability	24 262	52 972	21 977	99 212
Cash guarantees received	—	78	57	135
Credit institutions	171 550	195	—	171 745
Schuldschein loans	110 500	20 939	—	131 439
Bonds	—	400 000	—	400 000
Total financial debt	306 313	474 184	22 034	802 531

An analysis of the undiscounted outflows relating to the Group's financial liabilities by contractual maturity is presented in note 7.3. 'Financial risk management and financial derivatives'. The financial debt due within one year increased with € 54.0 million mainly due to upcoming repayment of the Schuldschein loans which will take place in 2025, but offset with lower repayment of long term loans due in 2025.

As a general principle, loans are entered into by Group companies in their local currency to avoid currency risk. If funding is in another currency without an offsetting position on the balance sheet, the companies hedge the

currency risk through derivatives (cross-currency interest-rate swaps or forward exchange contracts). Bonds, commercial paper and debt towards credit institutions are unsecured, except for the factoring programs.

For further information on financial risk management, we refer to note 7.3. 'Financial risk management and financial derivatives'.

Net debt calculation

The following table summarizes the calculation of the net debt.

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Non-current interest-bearing debt 646 652	496 222
Current interest-bearing debt 252 283	306 309
Total financial debt 898 934	802 531
Non-current financial receivables and cash guarantees -10 005	-11 186
Current financial receivables and cash guarantees -1 575	-1 633
Short-term deposits -1 238	-2 312
Cash and cash equivalents -631 687	-504 384
Net debt 254 430	283 015

Changes in liabilities arising from financing activities

In accordance with the disclosure requirements of IAS 7 'Statement of Cash Flows', this section presents an overview of the changes in liabilities arising from financing activities. The qualification as long-term vs shortterm debt is based on the initial maturity of the debt. In the consolidated cash flow statement, the cash flows from long-term interest-bearing debt are analyzed between proceeds and repayments.

Acquisitions and disposals in 2024 mainly relate to the acquisition of Bexco NV. Other changes in financial debt mainly related to the non-cash movements on the lease liability (€ 36.7 million) (see note 6.4. 'Right-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment'). The cash flows contains mainly repayment of the long term loans in the Belgian entity, Bekaert NV (€ -75.0 million). Derivatives held to hedge financial debt included swaps and options that provide (economic) hedges for interest-rate risk, see note 7.3. 'Financial risk management and financial derivatives'.

Acquisitions and disposals in 2023 mainly relate to the disposal of the Steel Wire Solution businesses in Chile and Peru. Other changes in financial debt mainly related to the non-cash movements on the lease liability (€ 36.8 million) (see note 6.4. 'Right-of-use (RoU) property, plant and equipment'). The cash flows contains mainly the repayment of the Schuldschein loan which took place in June 2023. Derivatives held to hedge financial debt included swaps and options that provide (economic) hedges for interest-rate risk, see note 7.3. 'Financial risk management and financial derivatives'.

2023	Non-cash changes
in thousands of €	As at 1 January	Cash flows	Acquisitions & disposals	Cumulative translation adjustments	Fair value changes	Other changes	As at 31 December
Financial debt
Long-term interest-bearing debt ¹	953 618	-217 332	-34 954	-644	—	42 534	743 221
Cash guarantees received	210	-38	—	-12	—	—	160
Lease liability	77 205	-28 294	-3 932	-631	—	42 362	86 710
Credit institutions	156 023	—	-31 023	—	—	—	125 000
Schuldschein loans	320 179	-189 000	—	—	—	172	131 352
Bonds	400 000	—	—	—	—	—	400 000
Convertible bonds	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Short-term interest bearing debt	282 378	-36 918	-99 713	9 965	—	-1	155 713
Total financial debt	1 235 996	-254 250	-134 667	9 322	—	42 533	898 934
Derivatives held to hedge financial debt
Interest-rate swaps	-7 178	—	—	—	3 818	—	-3 359
Cross-currency interest-rate swaps	-2 645	—	—	—	2 063	—	-583
Other liabilities from financing activities	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Put options of NCI	—	—	1 726	—	—	—	1 726
Total liabilities from financing activities	1 226 173	-254 250	-132 941	9 322	5 881	42 533	896 718

¹ Including the current portion of non-current interest-bearing debt of € 218.1 million as at 1 January and € 96.6 million as at 31 December.

2024			Non-cash changes
in thousands of €	As at 1 January	Cash flows	Acquisitions & disposals	Cumulative translation adjustments	Fair value changes	Other changes	As at 31 December
Financial debt
Long-term interest-bearing debt ¹	743 221	-105 456	4 873	1 551	—	36 829	681 018
Cash guarantees received	160	-30	—	5	—	—	135
Lease liability	86 710	-30 401	4 619	1 546	—	36 738	99 212
Credit institutions	125 000	-75 025	253	—	—	4	50 233
Schuldschein loans	131 352	—	—	—	—	87	131 439
Bonds	400 000	—	—	—	—	—	400 000
Convertible bonds	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Short-term interest bearing debt	155 713	-47 545	2 641	10 704	—	—	121 512
Total financial debt	898 934	-153 001	7 514	12 255	—	36 829	802 531
Derivatives held to hedge financial debt
Interest-rate swaps	-3 359	—	—	—	2 399	—	-961
Cross-currency interest-rate swaps	-583	—	—	—	3 238	—	2 655
Other liabilities from financing activities	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Put options of NCI	1 726	—	—	71	-591	—	1 206
Total liabilities from financing activities	896 718	-153 001	7 514	12 325	5 046	36 829	805 432

¹ Including the current portion of non-current interest-bearing debt of € 96.6 million as at 1 January and € 184.8 million as at 31 December.

6.19. Other non-current liabilities

Carrying amount

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Other non-current amounts payable	150	150
Derivatives (cf. note 7.3.)	—	—
Put options on NCI (cf. note 7.3.)	1 726	1 206
Total	1 876	1 356

The derivatives related to an interest-rate swap to hedge the variable interest in some of the Schuldschein loans were nil in 2024 (2023: nil). CCIRSs were also nil in 2024. (2023: nil) (see notes 6.18. "Interest-bearing debt" and 7.3. "Financial risk management and financial derivatives"). The put option (€ 1.2 million) related to a noncontrolling interest in an investment.

6.20. Other current liabilities

Carrying amount
2023 in thousands of €	2024
Other amounts payable 3 839	5 257
Derivatives (cf. note 7.3.) 566	3 470
Advances received 17 935	18 166
Other taxes 29 574	29 596
Accruals and deferred income 8 609	7 975
Total 60 523	64 464

The increase in 2024 of Other amounts payable was mainly due to higher outstanding net payables for insurance.

The derivatives included forward-exchange contracts (€ 0.6 million (2023: € 0.5 million)) and CCIRSs (€ 2.8 million (2023: € 0.1 million)).

The Advances received increased in 2024 due to the acquisition of Bexco NV (project business of Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group (BBRG)) while the amount of 2023 contained an advance received relating to the sale of an office building in Belgium.

Other taxes related to VAT payable (€ 9.7 million (2023: € 12.3 million)), employment-related taxes withheld (€ 11.7 million (2023: € 8.9 million)) and other non-income taxes payable (€ 8.2 million (2023: € 8.4 million))

6.21. Tax positions

The table below provides an overview of the tax receivables, tax payables and uncertain tax positions recognized at balance sheet closing date. The tax receivables and payables include both current income taxes, VAT and other taxes.

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Tax receivables	90 115	119 301
Certain tax liabilities	44 650	58 516
Uncertain tax positions	42 704	42 610

The certain tax liabilities include the balances of other taxes presented in the table of note '6.20. Other current liabilities'.

7. Miscellaneous items

7.1. Notes to the cash flow statement

Summary

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Operating result (EBIT) 334 412	296 178
Non-cash items added back to operating result (EBIT) 188 745	161 190
EBITDA 523 157	457 368
Other gross cash flows from operating activities -91 841	-82 927
Gross cash flows from operating activities 431 316	374 441
Changes in operating working capital ¹ 12 147	37 139
Other operating cash flows -3 628	-37 610
Cash from operating activities 439 834	373 971
Cash from investing activities -40 534	-200 355
Cash from financing activities -482 113	-306 855
Net increase or decrease in cash and cash equivalents -82 813	-133 239

¹ For reconciliation of the changes in operating working capital with the organic variation of the working capital, see note 6.8. 'Operating working capital'.

The cash flow from operating activities is presented using the indirect method, whereas the direct method is used for the cash flows from other activities. The direct method focuses on classifying gross cash receipts and gross cash payments by category.

Cash from operating activities

Details of selected operating items

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Non-cash items included in operating result (EBIT)
Depreciation and amortization ¹	177 932	151 411
Impairment losses on assets	10 814	9 779
Non-cash items added back to operating result (EBIT)	188 745	161 190
Gains (-) and losses on business disposals (portion retained)	—	—
Employee benefits: set-up / reversal (-) of amounts not used	14 772	18 676
Provisions: set-up / reversal (-) of amounts not used	5 216	14 063
CTA recycled on business disposals	8 570	—
Equity-settled share-based payments	-258	-5 017
Other non-cash items included in operating result (EBIT)	28 300	27 722
Total	217 046	188 911
Investing items included in operating result (EBIT)
Gains (-) and losses on business disposals (portion sold)	-4 773	—
Gains (-) and losses on disposals of intangible assets + PP&E	660	-4 630
Total	-4 114	-4 630
Amounts used on provisions and employee benefit obligations
Employee benefits: amounts used	-27 883	-29 852
Provisions: amounts used	-8 989	-6 744
Total	-36 872	-36 596
Income taxes paid
Current income tax expense	-80 656	-70 716
Increase or decrease (-) in net income taxes payable	1 501	1 295
Total	-79 155	-69 421
Other operating cash flows
Movements in other receivables and payables	-3 728	-35 429
Other	100	-2 181
Total	-3 628	-37 610

¹ Including €-22.4 million (2023: € 5.3 million) write-downs / (reversals of write-downs) on inventories and trade receivables (see note 6.8. Operating working capital').

Gross cash flows from operating activities decreased by € -56.9 million as a result of lower EBITDA (including corrections for non-cash elements in EBITDA).

The decrease in working capital, driven by lower trade receivables, advance payments and trade payables, partly offset by higher inventories and personnel related liabilities, generated a cash-in for a total amount of € +37.1 million in 2024 (2023: cash-in of € 12.1 million) (see organic decrease in note 6.8. 'Operating working capital').

Other operating cash flows mainly related to swings in other receivables and payables not included in working capital and not arising from investing or financing activities.

In 2024, the cash-out from income taxes was € -69.4 million. Most taxes were paid in China (€ 25.3 million), Belgium (€ 11.4 million), India (€ 8.1 million), Australia (€ 5.1 million), Indonesia (€ 3.7 million), Slovakia (€ 3.7 million), United States (€ 2.7 million), Chile (€ 2.3 million), Turkey (€ 1.9 million) and Ecuador (€ 1.9 million).

Cash from investing activities

The following table presents more details on selected investing cash flows:

Details of selected investing items

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Other portfolio investments
New business combinations -5 864	-39 170
Other investments -8 843	-1 443
Total -14 707	-40 614
Proceeds from disposals of fixed assets
Proceeds from disposals of intangible assets 32	—
Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment 14 971	9 809
Total 15 003	9 809

The other investments in 2024 relate to the investments mainly in Zacua Ventures Builders Fund I, LP (€ 0.7 million), Hyve BV (€ 0.5 million) and Emerald Industrial Innovation Fund, LP (€ 0.2 million). New business combinations relate to the investments in new subsidiaries in 2024 (Bexco NV).

Cash-outs from capital expenditure for property, plant and equipment increased from € 191.2 million in 2023 to € 196.1 million in 2024.

The proceeds from sales of fixed assets in 2024 related to sales transactions in Belgium and Ecuador. The proceeds from sales of fixed assets in 2023 related mainly to sales transactions in United Kingdom.

Cash from financing activities

The following table presents more details about selected financing items:

Details of selected financing items

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Other financing cash flows
Increase (-) or decrease in current and non-current receivables -647	-2 193
Increase (-) or decrease in current financial assets 3 462	-1 032
Other financial income and expenses -14 171	-16 051
Total -11 357	-19 277

New long-term debt issued was € 2.4 million in 2024 (2023: € 0.03 million). Repayments of long-term debt (€ -107.8 million) consists mainly of the repayment of the long term loans in the Belgian entity (€ -75.0 million) and repayment of current portion of the non-current lease liability (€ -31.4 million). Cash-outs from short-term debt amounted to € -47.5 million in 2024 (2023: cash-outs of € -36.9 million), mostly by repayment of shortterm loans by the Belgian, Latin American, Chinese and Turkish entities. For an overview of the movements in liabilities arising from financing activities, see note 6.18. 'Interest-bearing debt'.

In 2024 amounted the impact of treasury share transactions to € -30.1 million (2023: € -99.4 million) and mainly related to the share buy-back program.

As for other financing cash flows, there were cash-outs related to an increase from loans and receivables (€ -2.2 million vs € -0.6 million in 2023) and cash-outs from current financial assets, mainly short-term deposits (€ -1.0 million vs € cash-inns of 3.5 million in 2023). Other financial income and expenses mainly related to taxes and bank charges on financial transactions (€ -16.1 million vs € -14.2 million in 2023).

7.2. Effect of business combinations and business disposals

Business combinations: acquisition of Bexco NV

On 21 May 2024, Bekaert announced the acquisition of 100% of the ordinary shares of Bexco NV, a leading global player in synthetic ropes for offshore energy production, both conventional and renewable. The acquisition, for a cash consideration of € 40 million, is part of Bekaert's growth strategy and strengthens its current offering in synthetic offshore lifting and mooring solutions. There are no contingent consideration arrangements included in this acquisition.

BEXCO, headquartered in Hamme, Belgium, is an established player in the lifting and mooring market for offshore energy and marine applications, with an outstanding industry reputation and operational expertise. The combination of Bekaert's mooring activities and BEXCO will create a global offshore rope solutions provider to support the offshore energy industry's future growth. Bekaert management expects there will be significant synergies and that the acquisition will be accretive to profit margins in the first full year of ownership.

The table below presents the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities at acquisition date and the goodwill calculation. It also clarifies the amount shown in the consolidated cash flow statement as 'new business combinations'.

Fair value on acquisition date
27 543
27 662
(9 669)
(19 242)
26 294
13 967
40 261
1 091

New business combinations (39 170)

The acquisition closed 21 May, however 30 April was designated as the acquisition date for convenience. There were no events between the convenience date and the actual acquisition date that would result in material changes in the amounts recognized.

The following intangible assets (€ 11.6 million) have been identified as having to be reported separately from goodwill: economic right to use the trade name, customer relationships and technology. The determination of the fair values of property, plant and equipment (€ 14.5 million) was based on external appraisals. Inventories (€ 14.5 million) were fair valued based on the expected sales price minus estimated selling costs. Trade and other receivables (€ 11.9 million) were recorded at their nominal value as the full contractual amounts are expected to be collectible.

The Group measured the acquired lease liabilities (€ 4.4 million) using the present value of the remaining lease payments at the date of acquisition. The RoU assets were measured at an amount equal to the lease liabilities. The deferred tax liability (€ 5.2 million) is linked to the step up for intangible assets and property, plant and equipment. Current liabilities mainly relate to trade payables and advances received from customers. No contingent liabilities were identified.

The goodwill of € 14.0 million comprises the value of expected synergies arising from the acquisition and is entirely allocated to the BBRG cash generating unit. None of the goodwill recognized is expected to be deductible for income tax purposes. The transaction costs amounted to € 0.9 million and were included in Administrative expenses (part of one-off items).

From acquisition date, BEXCO has contributed € 33.4 million in sales. If BEXCO had been acquired as from 1 January 2024, the Group would have recognized € 52.0 million of net sales for the full year of 2024.

7.3. Financial risk management and financial instruments

Principles of financial risk management

The Group is exposed to risks from movements in exchange rates, interest rates and market risks that affect its assets and liabilities. Financial risk management within the Group aims at reducing the impact of these market risks through ongoing operational and financing activities. Selected derivative hedging instruments are used depending on the assessment of risk involved. The Group mainly hedges the risks that affect the Group's cash flows. Derivatives are used exclusively as hedging instruments and not for trading or other speculative purposes. To reduce the credit risk, hedging transactions are generally only concluded with financial institutions whose long term credit rating is at least A according to Moody's Investors Service Inc., Fitch and S&P.

The guidelines and principles of the Bekaert financial risk policy are defined by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and overseen by the Board of the Group. Group Treasury is responsible for implementing the financial risk policy. This encompasses defining appropriate policies and setting up effective control and reporting procedures. The Audit, Risk and Finance Committee is regularly kept informed on the exposures.

Currency risk

The Group's currency risk can be split into two categories: translational and transactional currency risk.

Translational currency risk

A translational currency risk arises when the financial data of foreign subsidiaries are converted into the Group's presentation currency, the euro. The main currencies are Chinese renminbi, US dollar, Czech koruna, Brazilian real, Russian ruble, Indian rupee and pound sterling. Since there is no impact on the cash flows, the Group usually does not hedge against such risk.

Transactional currency risk

The Group is exposed to transactional currency risks resulting from its operating, investing and financing activities.

Foreign currency risk in the area of operating activities arises from commercial activities with sales and purchases in foreign currencies, as well as payments and receipts of royalties. The Group uses forwardexchange contracts to limit the currency risk on the forecasted cash inflows and outflows for the coming three months. Significant exposures and firm commitments beyond that time frame may also be covered.

Foreign currency risk in the area of investment results from the acquisition and disposal of investments in foreign companies, and sometimes also from dividends receivable from foreign investments. If material, these risks are hedged by means of forward exchange contracts.

Foreign currency risk in the financing area results from financial liabilities in foreign currencies. In line with its policy, Group Treasury hedges these risks using cross-currency interest-rate swaps and forward exchange contracts to convert financial obligations denominated in foreign currencies into the entity's functional currency. At the reporting date, the foreign currency liabilities for which currency risks were hedged mainly consisted of intercompany loans in euro and US dollar.

Currency sensitivity analysis

Currency sensitivity relating to the operating, investing and financing activities

The following table summarizes the Group's net foreign currency positions of operating, investing and financing receivables and payables at the reporting date for the most important currency pairs. The net currency positions are presented before intercompany eliminations. Positive amounts indicate that the Group has a net future cash inflow in the first currency. In the table, the "Total exposure" column represents the position on the balance sheet, while the "Total derivatives" column includes all financial derivatives hedging those balance sheet positions as well as forecasted transactions.

Currency pair - 2023

in thousands of €	Total exposure	Total derivatives	Open position
AUD/EUR	-15 942	-6 807	-22 749
BRL/EUR	28 002	—	28 002
CLP/EUR	4 607	—	4 607
CAD/EUR	-4 364	—	-4 364
CZK/EUR	9 217	—	9 217
EUR/CNY	-25 507	—	-25 507
EUR/GBP	-51 202	11 162	-40 040
EUR/INR	-14 066	—	-14 066
EUR/MYR	-14 238	—	-14 238
EUR/RON	-25 030	—	-25 030
EUR/RUB	-40 022	—	-40 022
IDR/USD	-2 255	—	-2 255
JPY/CNY	3 725	—	3 725
USD/BRL	-6 424	—	-6 424
USD/CAD	17 754	17 195	34 949
USD/CNY	47 136	—	47 136
USD/EUR	74 666	-43 859	30 807
USD/GBP	5 243	—	5 243
USD/INR	-40 409	—	-40 409
USD/MXN	-4 554	855	-3 699

Currency pair - 2024

in thousands of €	Total exposure	Total derivatives	Open position
BRL/EUR	37 302	—	37 302
CZK/EUR	8 257	—	8 257
EUR/CAD	23 110	-18 289	4 822
EUR/CNY	45 942	-4 790	41 152
EUR/GBP	-11 352	26 532	15 180
EUR/HKD	10 055	—	10 055
EUR/INR	-46 238	—	-46 238
EUR/JPY	-11 470	2 876	-8 594
EUR/MXN	-7 885	742	-7 143
EUR/RON	-21 929	8 845	-13 083
EUR/RUB	-40 988	—	-40 988
IDR/USD	-4 651	—	-4 651
TRY/EUR	7 996	—	7 996
USD/CNY	9 361	-12 706	-3 345
USD/EUR	-13 133	-97 256	-110 388
USD/GBP	5 243	—	5 243

The reasonably possible changes used in this calculation were based on annualized volatility relating to the daily movement of the exchange rate of the reported year, with a 95% confidence interval.

If rates had weakened/strengthened by such changes with all other variables constant, the result for the period before taxes would have been € 15.7 million lower/higher (2023: € 12.4 million).

Interest rate risk

The Group is exposed to interest rate risk, mainly on debt denominated in US dollar, Chinese renminbi and euro. To minimize the effects of interest-rate fluctuations in these regions, the Group manages the interest rate risk for net debt denominated in the respective currencies of these countries separately. General guidelines are applied to cover interest-rate risk:

• The target average life of long-term debt is four years.
• The allocation of long-term debt between floating and fixed interest rates must remain within the defined limits approved by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

Group Treasury uses interest-rate swaps and cross-currency interest-rate swaps to ensure that the floating and fixed portions of the long-term debt remain within the defined limits.

The following table summarizes the weighted average interest rates, excluding the effects of any swaps, at the balance sheet date.

	Long-term
2023	Fixed rate	Floating rate	Total	Short-term	Total
US dollar	-%	- %	-%	6.42%	6.42%
Chinese renminbi	- %	- %	- %	3.19%	3.19%
Euro	1.80%	5.53%	2.33%	6.99 %	2.36%
Other	-%	- %	-%	12.77%	12.77%
Total	1.80%	5.53%	2.33%	5.82%	3.06%

	Long-term
2024	Fixed rate	Floating rate	Total	Short-term	Total
US dollar	- %	- %	- %	5.39%	5.39%
Chinese renminbi	- %	- %	- %	2.61%	2.61%
Euro	2.11%	4.23%	2.46%	-%	2.46%
Other	- %	- %	- %	8.21%	8.21%
Total	2.11%	4.23%	2.46%	4.64%	2.99%

Interest rate sensitivity of the financial debt

As disclosed in note 6.18. 'Interest-bearing debt', the total financial debt of the Group as of 31 December 2024 decreased to € 803 million (2023: € 899 million). The following table shows the currency and interest rate profile, i.e. the percentage distribution of the total financial debt by currency and by type of interest rate (fixed, floating), including the effect of any swaps.

	Long-term		Short-term
2023	Fixed rate	Floating rate	Floating rate	Total
US dollar	-%	- %	9.50%	9.50%
Chinese renminbi	- %	- %	8.50%	8.50%
Euro	67.90%	11.40%	0.40 %	79.70%
Other	-%	- %	2.30%	2.30%
Total	67.90%	11.40%	20.70%	100.00%

	Long-term		Short-term
2024	Fixed rate	Floating rate	Floating rate	Total
US dollar	- %	- %	13.50%	13.50%
Chinese renminbi	- %	- %	8.90%	8.90%
Euro	63.20%	12.20%	-%	75.40%
Other	- %	- %	2.20%	2.20%
Total	63.20%	12.20%	24.60%	100.00%

On the basis of the annualized daily volatility of the 3-month Interbank Offered Rate in 2024 and 2023, the reasonable estimates of possible interest rate changes, with a 95% confidence interval, are set out for the main currencies in the table below.

2023	Interest rate at 31 December	Reasonably possible changes (+/-)
Chinese renminbi ¹	2.01%	0.33%
Euro	4.03%	0.66%
US dollar	5.59%	0.70%

2024	Interest rate at 31 December	Reasonably possible changes (+/-)
Chinese renminbi ¹	1.71%	0.28%
Euro	2.75%	0.45%
US dollar	4.69%	0.75%

¹ For the Chinese renminbi, the interest rate is the PBOC benchmark interest rate for loans up to six months.

Applying the estimated possible changes in the interest rates to the floating rated debt, with all other variables constant, the result for the period before tax would have been € 0.1 million higher/lower (2023: € 0.2 million higher/lower).

Credit risk

Credit risk is the risk that a counterparty will not meet its obligations under a financial instrument or customer contract, leading to a financial loss. The Group is exposed to credit risk from its operating activities and certain financing activities, including deposits with banks and financial institutions. In respect of its operating activities, the Group has a credit policy in place, which takes into account the risk profiles of the customers in terms of the market segment to which they belong. Based on activity platform, product sector and geographical area, a credit risk analysis is made of customers and a decision is taken regarding the covering of the credit risk. The exposure to credit risk is monitored on an ongoing basis and credit evaluations are made of all customers. In terms of the characteristics of some steel wire activities with a limited number of global customers, the concentration risk is closely monitored and, in combination with the existing credit policy, appropriate action is taken when needed. In accordance with IFRS 8 §34, none of the specified disclosures on individual customers (or groups of customers under common control) are required, since none of the Group's customers accounts for more than 10% of its revenues. At 31 December 2024, 74.05% (2023: 75.5%) of the credit risk exposure was covered by credit insurance policies and by trade finance techniques such as letters of credit, cash against documents and bank guarantees. In respect of financing activities, transactions are normally concluded with counterparties that have at least an A credit rating. There are also limits allocated to each counterparty which depend on their rating. Due to this approach, the Group considers the risk of counterparty default to be limited in both operating and financing activities. In accordance with the IFRS 9 "expected credit loss" model for financial assets, a bad debt allowance is made for trade receivables to cover the unknown bad debt risk at each

reporting date. This ECL allowance IFRS 9 constitutes of a percentage on outstanding trade receivables at each reporting date. The percentages reflect the probability-weighted outcome, the time value of money and reasonable and supportable information that is available at reporting date about past events, current conditions and forecasts of future economic conditions and are reviewed year-on-year.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Group will be unable to meet its obligations as they come due because of an inability to liquidate assets or obtain adequate funding. To ensure liquidity and financial flexibility at all times, the Group, in addition to its available cash, has several uncommitted short-term credit lines at its disposal in the major currencies and in amounts considered adequate for current and near-future financing needs. These facilities are generally of the mixed type and may be utilized, for example, for advances, overdrafts, acceptances and discounting. The Group also has committed credit facilities at its disposal up to a maximum equivalent of € 250 million (2023: € 300 million) at floating interest rates with fixed margins. At year-end, nothing was outstanding under these facilities (2023: nil). In addition, the Group has a commercial paper and medium-term note program available for a maximum of € 123.9 million (2023: € 123.9 million). At the end of 2024, no commercial paper notes were outstanding (2023: nil). At year-end, no external bank debt was subject to debt covenants (2023: nil). The Group has discounted outstanding receivables per 31 December 2024 for a total amount of € 221.0 million (2023: € 231.5 million) under its existing factoring agreements. Under these agreements, substantially all risks and rewards of ownership of the receivables are transferred to the factor. As a consequence, at the end of 2024, the factored receivables are derecognized.

The following table shows the Group's contractually agreed (undiscounted) outflows in relation to financial liabilities (including financial liabilities reclassified as liabilities associated with assets held for sale). Only net interest payments and principal repayments are included.

2023

in thousands of €	2024	2025	2026-2028	2029 and thereafter
Financial liabilities - principal
Trade payables	-632 950	—	—	—
Other payables	-3 839	-150	-1 726	—
Interest-bearing debt	-252 283	-171 546	-454 230	-20 876
Derivatives - gross settled	-60 432	—	—	—
Financial liabilities - interests
Trade and other payables	—	—	—	—
Interest-bearing debt	-21 432	-14 287	-17 557	—
Derivatives - gross settled	-2 851	—	—	—
Total undiscounted cash flow	-973 787	-185 982	-473 514	-20 876

2024

in thousands of €	2025	2026	2027-2029	2030 and thereafter
Financial liabilities - principal
Trade payables	-668 111	—	—	—
Other payables	-5 257	-1 356	—	—
Interest-bearing debt	-306 313	-217 075	-257 109	-22 034
Derivatives - gross settled	-118 900	—	—	—
Financial liabilities - interests
Trade and other payables	—	—	—	—
Interest-bearing debt	-16 490	-11 651	-5 904	—
Derivatives - gross settled	-4 160	—	—	—
Total undiscounted cash flow	-1 119 231	-230 082	-263 013	-22 034

All instruments held at the reporting date and for which payments had been contractually agreed are included. Forecasted data relating to future, new liabilities have not been included. Amounts in foreign currencies have been translated at the closing rate at the reporting date. The variable interest payments arising from the financial instruments were calculated using the applicable forward interest rates.

Hedging

All financial derivatives the Group enters into, relate to an underlying transaction or forecasted exposure. In function of the expected impact on the income statement and if the stringent IFRS 9 criteria are met, the Group decides on a case-by-case basis whether hedge accounting will be applied. The following sections describe the transactions whereby hedge accounting is applied and transactions which do not qualify for hedge accounting but constitute an economic hedge.

Hedge accounting

The Group did not apply hedge accounting in 2024 (2023: none) so there were no fair value hedges nor cash flow hedges in 2024 (2023: none).

Economic hedging and other derivatives

The Group also uses financial instruments that represent an economic hedge but for which no hedge accounting is applied, either because the criteria to qualify for hedge accounting defined in IFRS 9 "Financial Instruments" are not met or because the Group has elected not to apply hedge accounting. These derivatives are treated as free-standing instruments held for trading.

• The Group uses cross-currency interest-rate swaps and forward-exchange contracts to hedge the currency risk on intercompany loans involving two entities with different functional currencies. Until now, the Group has elected not to apply hedge accounting as defined in IFRS 9. Since nearly all cross-currency interest-rate swaps are floating-to-floating, the fair value gain or loss on the financial instruments is expected to offset the foreign-exchange result arising from the remeasurement of the intercompany loans. The major currencies involved are US dollar and British pound.
• To manage its interest-rate exposure, the Group uses interest-rate swaps to convert its floating-rate debt to a fixed rate debt. The Group entered into interest-rate swaps for € 80.5 million to hedge the Schuldschein loans with floating interest rates (2023: € 80.5 million).
• The Group uses forward exchange contracts to limit currency risks on its various operating and financing activities. For all forward exchange contracts, the fair value change is recorded immediately under other financial income and expenses.
• In June 2019, the Group entered into a renewable energy Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) for a wind generation facility located in the US. In July 2022 the group entered into an additional contract for a solar project located in Texas (US). In July 2024, the group entered into a new contract for an onshore wind farm project, located in Romania. The characteristics of the contracts are such that the VPPA constitutes a derivative in accordance with IFRS 9. The fair value of the derivative amounted to € 27.1 million at 31 December 2024 (2023: € 11.8 million), as a result of which a gain of € 14.2 million was recognized in other financial costs.
• The put option relating to the 2023 business combination with Flintstone qualifies as a non-current financial liability measured at fair value through profit or loss.

Derivatives

The following table analyzes the notional amounts of the derivatives according to their maturity date. In the case that derivatives are designated for hedge accounting as set out in IFRS 9, a distinction will be made depending on whether these are part of a fair value hedge (FVH) or cash flow hedge (CFH). At 31 December 2024, Bekaert does not apply hedge accounting:

2023

in thousands of €	Due within one year	Due between one and 5 years	Due after more than 5 years
Held for trading
Forward exchange contracts	37 526	—	—
Interest-rate swaps	—	80 500	—
Cross-currency interest-rate swaps	60 432	—	—
Total	97 958	80 500	—

2024

in thousands of €	Due within one year	Due between one and 5 years	Due after more than 5 years
Held for trading
Forward exchange contracts	67 102	—	—
Interest-rate swaps	80 500	—	—
Cross-currency interest-rate swaps	118 900	—	—
Total	266 502	—	—

The following table summarizes the fair values of the various derivatives carried. In the case that derivatives are designated for hedge accounting as set out in IFRS 9, a distinction will be made depending on whether these are part of a fair value hedge (FVH) or cash flow hedge (CFH). At 31 December 2024, Bekaert does not apply hedge accounting:

Fair value of current and non-current derivatives	Assets			Liabilities
in thousands of €	2023	2024	2023	2024
Financial instruments
Held for trading
Forward exchange contracts	359	271	473	648
Interest-rate swaps	3 359	961	—	—
Cross-currency interest-rate swaps	675	166	93	2 822
Put options relating to non-controlling interests	—	—	1 726	1 206
Other derivative financial assets	11 810	27 140	—	—
Total	16 203	28 537	2 292	4 676
Non-current	15 169	28 100	1 726	1 206
Current	1 034	437	566	3 470
Total	16 203	28 537	2 292	4 676

In 2024, the other derivative financial assets related to the VPPA derivatives for € 27.1 million (2023: € 11.8 million).

The Group has no financial assets and financial liabilities that are presented net in the balance sheet due to setoff in accordance with IAS 32. The Group enters into ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association) master agreements with its counterparties for some of its derivatives, allowing the counterparties to net derivative assets with derivative liabilities when settling in case of default. Under these agreements, no collateral is being exchanged, neither in cash nor in securities.

The potential effect of the netting of derivative contracts is shown below:

Effect of enforceable netting agreements	Assets			Liabilities
in thousands of €	2023	2024	2023	2024
Total derivatives recognized in balance sheet	16 203	28 537	2 292	4 676
Enforceable netting	-93	166	-93	166
Net amounts	16 110	28 704	2 199	4 843

Additional disclosures on financial instruments by class and category

The following tables list the different classes of financial assets and liabilities with their carrying amounts and their respective fair values, analyzed by their measurement category in accordance with IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments'.

Cash and cash equivalents, short-term deposits, trade and other receivables, bills of exchange received, loans and receivables primarily have short terms to maturity; hence, their carrying amounts at the reporting date approximate the fair values. Trade and other payables also generally have short terms to maturity and, hence, their carrying amounts also approximate their fair values. The Group has no exposure to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

The following abbreviations are used for the IFRS 9 categories:

Abbreviation	Category in accordance with IFRS 9
AC	Financial assets or financial liabilities at amortized cost
FVTOCI/Eq	Equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI
FVTPL/Mnd	Financial assets mandatorily measured at fair value through profit or loss
FVTPL	Financial liabilities measured as at fair value through profit or loss

Carrying amount vs fair value			31 December 2023		31 December 2024
in thousands of €	Category in accordance with IFRS 9	Carrying amount	Fair value	Carrying amount	Fair value
Assets
Non-current financial assets
- Financial & other receivables and cash guarantees	AC	10 799	10 799	11 922	11 922
- Equity investments	FVTOCI/Eq	31 060	31 060	40 621	40 621
- Derivatives
- Held for trading	FVTPL/Mnd	15 169	15 169	28 100	28 100
Current financial assets
- Financial receivables and cash guarantees	AC	1 575	1 575	1 633	1 633
- Cash and cash equivalents	AC	631 687	631 687	504 384	504 384
- Short term deposits	AC	1 238	1 238	2 312	2 312
- Trade receivables	AC	552 989	552 989	580 663	580 663
- Bills of exchange received	AC	55 507	55 507	29 110	29 110
- Other current assets
- Other receivables	AC	12 974	12 974	14 939	14 939
- Derivatives
- Held for trading	FVTPL/Mnd	1 034	1 034	437	437
Liabilities
Non-current interest-bearing debt
- Lease liabilities	AC	65 140	65 140	74 950	74 950
- Cash guarantees received	AC	160	160	135	135
- Credit institutions	AC	50 000	50 000	199	195
- Schuldschein loans	AC	131 352	131 352	20 939	20 939
- Bonds	AC	400 000	366 241	400 000	378 300
Current interest-bearing debt
- Lease liabilities	AC	21 570	21 570	24 262	24 262
- Credit institutions	AC	230 713	230 713	171 546	171 546
- Schuldschein loans	AC	—	—	110 500	110 500
- Bonds	AC	—	—	—	—
Other non-current liabilities
- Put option	FVTPL	1 726	1 726	1 206	1 206
- Other payables	AC	150	150	150	150
Trade payables	AC	632 950	632 950	668 111	668 111
Other current liabilities
- Conversion option	FVTPL	—	—	—	—
- Other payables	AC	21 774	21 774	23 423	23 423
- Derivatives
- Held for trading	FVTPL	566	566	3 470	3 470
Aggregated by category in accordance with IFRS 9
Financial assets	AC	1 266 770	1 266 770	1 144 963	1 144 963
	FVTOCI/Eq	31 060	31 060	40 621	40 621
	FVTPL/Mnd	16 203	16 203	28 537	28 537
Financial liabilities	AC	1 553 808	1 520 049	1 494 211	1 472 511
	FVTPL	2 292	2 292	4 676	4 676

The fair value of all financial instruments measured at amortized cost in the balance sheet has been determined using level-2 fair value measurement techniques. For most financial instruments the carrying amount approximates the fair value.

Financial instruments by fair value measurement hierarchy

The fair value measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities can be characterized in one of the following ways:

• "Level 1" fair value measurement: the fair values of financial assets and liabilities with standard terms and conditions and traded on active liquid markets are determined with reference to quoted market prices in these active markets for identical assets and liabilities. This mainly relates to financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income such as the investment in Shougang Concord Century Holdings Ltd (see note 6.6. 'Other non-current assets').
• "Level 2" fair value measurement: the fair values of other financial assets and financial liabilities are determined in accordance with generally accepted pricing models based on discounted cash flow analysis using prices from observable current market transactions and dealer quotes for similar instruments. This mainly relates to derivative financial instruments. Forward exchange contracts are measured using quoted forward-exchange rates and yield curves derived from quoted interest rates with matching maturities. Interest-rate swaps are measured at the present value of future cash flows estimated and discounted using the applicable yield curves derived from quoted interest rates. The fair value measurement of cross-currency interest-rate swaps is based on discounted estimated cash flows using quoted forward-exchange rates, quoted interest rates and applicable yield curves derived therefrom.
• "Level 3" fair value measurement: the fair value of the remaining financial assets and financial liabilities is derived from valuation techniques which include inputs that are not based on observable market data. At the end of 2024, Bekaert had three types of financial instruments, namely the VPPA agreement, the put option and several equity investments, for which the fair value measurement can be characterized as "level 3". The fair value of the VPPA contract is determined using a Monte Carlo valuation model. The main factors determining the fair value of the VPPA agreement are the discount rate (level 2), the estimated energy output based on wind or solar studies in the area and the off-peak/on-peak price volatility (level 3). The fair value of the main equity investment (Xinju Metal Products Co Ltd) is determined using a 5-year forecast timeframe of cash flows based on the latest business plan, followed by a terminal value assumption. The main factors determining the fair value are the discount rate and EBITDA. The fair value of the put option, relating to noncontrolling interests has been based on discounted estimated earnouts.

Derivative in VPPA arrangement	31 December 2024
Level 2 inputs
Discount rate	Weighted average of investment grade corporate bond curves
Level 3 inputs
Power forward sensitivity	Estimated on peak/off peak price forecasts
Production sensitivity	Based on wind / solar studies in the area
Outcome of the model (in thousands of €)
Fair value of the VPPA derivative	27 140
Put option Flintstone	31 December 2024
Level 3 inputs

The carrying amount (i.e. the fair value) of the level-3 liabilities/(assets) has evolved as follows:

Level-3 Financial liabilities / (assets)

Discount rate 12.60%

in thousands of €	2023	2024
At 1 January	-26 910	-37 569
(Expenditure) / Disposal	-8 117	-182
(Gain) / loss in fair value through OCI	1 767	-1 512
(Gain) / loss in fair value through P&L	-4 309	-15 330
At 31 December	-37 569	-54 593

Gains and losses in fair value are reported in other financial income and expenses (€ 15.3 million), except for the equity investments where fair value changes are carried through other comprehensive income (€ 28.1 million) (see note 6.6. 'Other non-current assets').

The following table shows the sensitivity of the fair value calculation to the most significant level-3 inputs of the VPPA agreement for Rockhound Solar D and Vifor RO Wind Project.

Sensitivity analysis Rockhound Solar D project

in thousands of €	Change		Impact on VPPA derivative
Power forward sensitivity	+10%	increased by	3 311
	-10 %	decreased by	-3 234
Production sensitivity	+5%	increased by	3 119
	-5 %	decreased by	-3 138

Sensitivity analysis Vifor RO Wind Project

in thousands of €	Change	Impact on VPPA derivative
Power forward sensitivity	+10%	increased by	6 696
	-10 %	decreased by	-6 692
Production sensitivity	+5%	increased by	315
	-5 %	decreased by	-315

Equity Investments	31 December 2024
Level 3 inputs
Discount Rate	Weighted average of cost of capital after tax
Result (cash flow projection)	EBITDA

The sensitivity of the fair value calculation of the equity investment in Xinju Metal Products Co Ltd (€ 6.9 million) is shown below:

• If EBITDA would be CNY 4.0 million lower in all periods of the business plan, the fair value would be € 5.8 million;
• If the discount factor would be 1% higher, the fair value would be € 6.4 million;
• If EBITDA would be CNY 4.0 million lower in all years of the business plan and the discount factor would be 1% higher, the fair value would be € 5.4 million.

The following table provides an analysis of financial instruments measured at fair value in the balance sheet, in accordance with the fair value measurement hierarchy described above:

2023

in thousands of €	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
Financial assets mandatorily measured as at fair value through profit or loss
Derivative financial assets	—	4 393	11 810	16 203
Equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI
Equity investments	5 300	—	25 760	31 060
Total assets	5 300	4 393	37 569	47 263
Financial liabilities held for trading
Other derivative financial liabilities	—	566	—	566
Put option relating to non-controlling interests	—	—	1 726	1 726
Total liabilities	—	566	1 726	2 292

2024

in thousands of €	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
Financial assets mandatorily measured as at fair value through profit or loss
Derivative financial assets	—	1 398	27 140	28 537
Equity instruments designated as at fair value through OCI
Equity investments	13 168	—	27 453	40 621
Total assets	13 168	1 398	54 593	69 158
Financial liabilities held for trading
Other derivative financial liabilities	—	3 470	—	3 470
Put option relating to non-controlling interests	—	—	1 206	1 206
Total liabilities	—	3 470	1 206	4 676

Capital risk management

The Group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern while maximizing the return to shareholders through the optimization of the net debt and equity balance. The Group has not changed its strategy in this regard compared to 2023.

The capital structure of the Group consists of net debt, as defined in note 6.18. 'Interest-bearing debt', and equity (both attributable to equity holders of Bekaert and to non-controlling interests).

Gearing ratio

The Group's Audit, Risk and Finance Committee reviews the capital structure on a semi-annual basis. As part of this review, the committee assesses the cost of capital and the risks associated with each class of capital. The Group has a target gearing ratio of 50% determined as the proportion of net debt to equity. To realize this target (excluding the impact of IFRS 16 'Leases'), the Group is following systematically a number of guidelines, a.o.

• strict cost control to improve profitability;
• managing working capital levels by:
  • operational excellence;
  • cash collection actions;
  • aligned payment terms;
  • optimized factoring usage;
• strict control of capital expenditure;
• active business portfolio management, including M&A and divestments.

Gearing

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Net debt	254 430	283 015
Equity	2 166 029	2 311 768
Net debt to equity ratio	11.7%	12.2%

7.4. Contingencies, commitments, secured liabilities and assets pledged as security

As at 31 December, the important contingencies and commitments were:

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Contingent liabilities	6 083	5 429
Commitments to purchase fixed assets	52 732	58 499
Commitments to invest in venture capital funds	4 600	4 690

At year-end 2024, there were no outstanding bank guarantees linked to environmental obligations.

Apart from the leases, there are no restrictions to realize assets or settle liabilities. The lease liabilities are effectively secured as the rights to the leased assets recognized in the financial statements revert to the lessor in the event of default. The contingencies, commitments and assets pledged as security in joint ventures are disclosed in note 6.5.'Investments in joint ventures and associates'.

7.5. Related parties

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been eliminated in the consolidation and are accordingly not disclosed in this note. Transactions with other related parties are disclosed below.

Transactions with joint ventures

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Sales of goods 9 542	8 525
Purchases of goods 15 647	12 967
Services rendered 43	5
Royalties and management fees received 14 220	12 578
Interest and similar income 20	13
Dividends received 57 412	47 185

Outstanding balances with joint ventures

in thousands of €	2023	2024
Trade receivables	3 664	4 797
Other current receivables	4 250	2 251
Trade payables	2 822	3 072
Other current payables	1	1

None of the related parties have entered into any other transactions with the Group that meet the requirements of IAS 24 'Related Party Disclosures'. The sales to and purchases from related parties are made on terms equivalent to those that prevail in arm's length transactions. Outstanding balances at the year-end are unsecured and interest free and settlement occurs in cash. Advances have been received for ongoing capex projects. More information on transactions with joint ventures are disclosed in note 6.5. 'Investments in joint ventures and associates'.

Key Management remuneration

2023 in thousands of €	2024
Number of persons 33	33
Short-term employee benefits
Basic remuneration 9 135	9 592
Variable remuneration 2 337	3 714
Remuneration as directors of subsidiaries 473	465
Post-employment benefits
Defined-benefit pension plans 96	123
Defined-contribution pension plans 1 583	1 730
Share-based payment benefits 5 820	3 540
Total gross remuneration 19 444	19 164
Average gross remuneration per person 589	581
Number of performance share units granted (cash-settled and equity-settled) 111 109	104 058
Number of matching share units to be granted 4 742	4 958
Number of shares granted 11 202	10 323

Key management includes the CEO, the members of the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) and the Senior Vice Presidents. In addition to this, also the members of the Board of Directors are considered 'Related Parties'.

The disclosures relating to the Belgian Corporate Governance Code are included in the Corporate Governance Statement of this annual report.

7.6. Events after the balance sheet date

• Since 1 January 2025, a total of 2 500 treasury shares have been disposed of following the exercise of stock options under the stock option plans SOP 2015-2017 and a total of 45 050 treasury shares following the vesting of performance share units under the Performance Share Plan.
• On 28 February 2025, Bekaert announced it reached an agreement on the sale of the Steel Wire Solutions businesses in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Venezuela to Grupo AG.
• A grant of 155 815 equity settled performance share units was made on 7 March 2025 under the terms of the Performance Share Plan. The granted performance share units represented a fair value of € 6.3 million.
• A grant of 32 465 cash-settled performance share units was made on 7 March 2025 under the terms of the PSU A&L and PSU US Performance Share Plan. The granted performance share units represented a fair value of € 1.3 million.

7.7. Services provided by the statutory auditor and related persons

During 2024, the statutory auditor and persons professionally related to him performed additional services for fees amounting to € 852 206.

These fees essentially relate to further assurance services and legal assignments (€ 431 774) and other nonaudit services (€ 420 433). The additional services were approved by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

The audit fees for NV Bekaert SA and its subsidiaries amounted to € 2 406 622.

7.8. Subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates

Companies forming part of the Group as at 31 December 2024

Subsidiaries

Industrial companies	Address	FC ¹	% ²
EMEA
Bekaert Advanced Cords Aalter NV	Aalter, Belgium	EUR	100
Bekaert Bohumín sro	Bohumín, Czech Republic	CZK	100
Bekaert Bradford UK Ltd	Bradford, United Kingdom	GBP	100
Bekaert Çelik Kord Sanayi ve Ticaret AS	Izmit, Turkey	EUR	100
Bekaert Combustion Technology BV	Assen, Netherlands	EUR	100
Bekaert Heating Romania SRL	Negoiesti, Brazi Commune, Romania	RON	100
Bekaert Hlohovec as	Hlohovec, Slovakia	EUR	100
Bekaert Petrovice sro	Petrovice, Czech Republic	CZK	100
Bekaert Sardegna SpA	Assemini, Italy	EUR	100
Bekaert Slatina SRL	Slatina, Romania	RON	100
Bekaert Slovakia sro	Sládkovičovo, Slovakia	EUR	100
Bekintex NV	Wetteren, Belgium	EUR	100
Bexco NV	Hamme, Belgium	EUR	100
Bridon International Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	GBP	100
Industrias del Ubierna SA	Burgos, Spain	EUR	100
OOO Bekaert Lipetsk	Gryazi, Russian Federation	RUB	100
VisionTek Engineering Srl	Rovereto, Italy	EUR	100
North America
Bekaert Corporation	Wilmington (Delaware), United States	USD	100
Bridon-American Corporation	New York, United States	USD	100
Latin America
BBRG - Osasco Cabos Ltda	São Paulo, Brazil	BRL	100
BIA Alambres Costa Rica SA	San José-Santa Ana, Costa Rica	USD	58
Ideal Alambrec SA	Quito, Ecuador	USD	58
Prodinsa SA	Maipú, Chile	CLP	100
Productora de Alambres Colombianos Proalco SAS ³	Bogotá, Colombia	COP	40
Vicson SA	Valencia, Venezuela	USD	80
Asia Pacific
Bekaert Applied Material Technology (Shanghai) Co Ltd	Shanghai, China	CNY	100
Bekaert Binjiang Steel Cord Co Ltd	Jiangyin (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	90
Bekaert (China) Technology Research and Development Co Ltd	Jiangyin (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert (Chongqing) Steel Cord Co Ltd	Chongqing, China	CNY	100
Bekaert Industries Pvt Ltd	Taluka Shirur, District Pune, India	INR	100
Bekaert (Jiangsu) Advanced Cords Co Ltd	Jiangyin, Wuxi (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert Jiangyin Wire Products Co Ltd	Jiangyin (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert (Jining) Steel Cord Co Ltd	Jining, Yanzhou district (Shandong province), China	CNY	60
Bekaert Mukand Wire Industries Pvt Ltd	Pune, India	INR	100

Industrial companies	Address	FC ¹	% ²
Bekaert New Materials (Suzhou) Co Ltd	Suzhou (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert (Qingdao) Wire Products Co Ltd	Qingdao (Shandong province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert (Shandong) Tire Cord Co Ltd	Weihai (Shandong province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert (Shenyang) Advanced Cords Co Ltd	Shenyang (Liaoning province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert Shenyang Advanced Products Co Ltd	Shenyang (Liaoning province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert Toko Metal Fiber Co Ltd	Tokyo, Japan	JPY	70
Bekaert Vietnam Co Ltd	Son Tinh District, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam	USD	100
Bekaert Wire Ropes Pty Ltd	Mayfield East, Australia	AUD	100
Bridon (Hangzhou) Ropes Co Ltd	Hangzhou (Zhejiang province), China	CNY	100
China Bekaert Steel Cord Co Ltd	Jiangyin (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	90
PT Bekaert Indonesia	Karawang, Indonesia	USD	100
PT Bridon	Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia	USD	100

¹ Functional currency

² Financial interest percentage

³ For the assessment of the power of control in this respect, the Group has taken into account the bylaws, in particular concerning decision-making affecting the daily management of the subsidiary as well as specific clauses (right of veto, etc.).

Sales offices, warehouses and others	Address	FC ¹	% ²
EMEA
Bekaert Emirates LLC	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	AED	49
Bekaert Figline SpA	Milano, Italy	EUR	100
Bekaert France SAS	Lille, France	EUR	100
Bekaert Gesellschaft mbH	Vienna, Austria	EUR	100
Bekaert GmbH	Neu-Anspach, Germany	EUR	100
Bekaert Middle East LLC	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	AED	49
Bekaert Norge AS	Oslo, Norway	NOK	100
Bekaert Poland Sp z oo	Warsaw, Poland	PLN	100
Bekaert Portugal SA	Porto, Portugal	EUR	100
Bekaert (Schweiz) AG	Baden, Switzerland	CHF	100
Bekaert Svenska AB	Gothenburg, Sweden	SEK	100
Bridon International GmbH	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	EUR	100
Bridon Middle East FZE	Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	AED	100
Bridon Scheme Trustees Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	GBP	100
British Ropes Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	GBP	100
Falconix Engineering GmbH	Neu-Anspach, Germany	EUR	100
Flintstone Technology Ltd	Dundee, United Kingdom	GBP	75
Leon Bekaert SpA	Milano, Italy	EUR	100
OOO Bekaert Wire	Moscow, Russian Federation	RUB	100
Rylands-Whitecross Ltd	Bradford, United Kingdom	GBP	100
Scheldestroom NV	Zwevegem, Belgium	EUR	100
Twil Company	Bradford, United Kingdom	GBP	100
North America
Wire Rope Industries Ltd/Industries de Câbles d'Acier Ltée	Montréal, Canada	CAD	100
Latin America
Bekaert Guatemala SA	Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala	GTQ	58
Bekaert Specialty Films de Mexico SA de CV	Monterrey, Mexico	MXN	100
Bekaert Trade Mexico S de RL de CV	Mexico City, Mexico	MXN	100
Procables SA	Cercado de Lima, Peru	PEN	96
Specialty Films de Services Company SA de CV	Monterrey, Mexico	MXN	100
Asia Pacific
Bekaert Japan Co Ltd	Tokyo, Japan	JPY	100

Sales offices, warehouses and others	Address	FC ¹	% ²
Bekaert Korea Ltd	Seoul, South-Korea	KRW	100
Bekaert Malaysia Sdn Bhd	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	MYR	100
Bekaert Management (Shanghai) Co Ltd	Shanghai, China	CNY	100
Bekaert New Materials Trading (Suzhou) Co Ltd	Suzhou (Jiangsu province), China	CNY	100
Bekaert Taiwan Co Ltd	Taipei City	TWD	100
Bekaert (Thailand) Co Ltd	Rayong,Thailand	USD	100
BOSFA Pty Ltd	Mayfield East, Australia	AUD	100
Bridon Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	HKD	100
Bridon New Zealand Ltd	Aukland, New Zealand	NZD	100
Bridon Singapore Pte Ltd	Singapore	SGD	100
Bridon (South East Asia) Ltd	Hong Kong, China	HKD	100
PT Bekaert Trade Indonesia	Karawang, Indonesia	USD	100
PT Bekaert Wire Indonesia	Karawang, Indonesia	USD	100

¹ Functional currency

² Financial interest percentage

Financial companies	Address	FC ¹	% ²
Acma Inversiones SA	Santiago, Chile	CLP	100
BBRG Finance (UK) Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	EUR	100
Becare DAC	Dublin, Ireland	EUR	100
Bekaert Building Products Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Coördinatiecentrum NV	Zwevegem, Belgium	EUR	100
Bekaert do Brasil Ltda	Contagem, Brazil	BRL	100
Bekaert Holding Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Ibérica Holding SL	Burgos, Spain	EUR	100
Bekaert Ideal SL	Burgos, Spain	EUR	80
Bekaert Investments NV	Zwevegem, Belgium	EUR	100
Bekaert Investments Italia SpA	Milano, Italy	EUR	100
Bekaert North America Management Corporation	Wilmington (Delaware), United States	USD	100
Bekaert Services Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Specialty Wire Products Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Stainless Products Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Steel Cord Products Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Strategic Partnerships Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Wire Products Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China	EUR	100
Bekaert Wire Rope Industry NV	Zwevegem, Belgium	EUR	100
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	EUR	100
Bridon Holdings Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	GBP	100
Bridon Ltd	Doncaster, United Kingdom	GBP	100
InverVicson SA	Valencia, Venezuela	USD	80

Joint ventures

Industrial companies	Address	FC ¹	% ²
Latin America
Belgo Bekaert Arames Ltda	Contagem, Brazil	BRL	45
BMB-Belgo Mineira Bekaert Artefatos de Arame Ltda	Vespasiano, Brazil	BRL	45
Servicios Ideal AGF Inttegra Cia Ltda	Quito, Ecuador	USD	29

Sales offices, warehouses and others	Address	FC ¹	% ²
EMEA
Netlon Sentinel Ltd	Blackburn, United Kingdom	GBP	50
Asia Pacific
Bekaert Engineering (India) Pvt Ltd	New Delhi, India	INR	40

¹ Functional currency

² Financial interest percentage

Changes in 2024

1. New company

Subsidiaries	Address	% ¹
Falconix Engineering GmbH	Neu-Anspach, Germany	100

2. Acquired through business combinations

Subsidiaries	Address	% ¹
Bexco NV	Hamme, Belgium	100

3. Mergers

Subsidiaries	Merged into
Bekaert Kartepe Çelik Kord Sanayi ve Ticaret AS	Bekaert Izmit Çelik Kord Sanayi ve Ticaret AS
Bekaert Singapore Holding Pte Ltd	Bridon Singapore Pte Ltd
Bekaert Singapore Pte Ltd	Bridon Singapore Pte Ltd

4. Name change

New name	Former name
Bekaert Çelik Kord Sanayi ve Ticaret AS	Bekaert Izmit Çelik Kord Sanayi ve Ticaret AS

5. Liquidated

Companies	Address
Bekaert Carding Solutions Hong Kong Ltd	Hong Kong, China

In accordance with Belgian legislation, the table below lists the registered numbers of the Belgian companies.

Companies	Company number
Bekaert Advanced Cords Aalter NV	BTW BE 0645.654.071 RPR Gent, division Gent
Bekaert Coördinatiecentrum NV	BTW BE 0426.824.150 RPR Gent, division Kortrijk
Bekaert Investments NV	BTW BE 0406.207.096 RPR Gent, division Kortrijk
Bekaert Wire Rope Industry NV	BTW BE 0550.983.358 RPR Gent, division Kortrijk
Bekintex NV	BTW BE 0452.746.609 RPR Gent, division Dendermonde
Bexco NV	BTW BE 0412.623.251 RPR Gent, division Dendermonde
NV Bekaert SA	BTW BE 0405.388.536 RPR Gent, division Kortrijk
Scheldestroom NV	BTW BE 0403.676.188 RPR Gent, division Kortrijk

¹ Financial interest percentage

Parent company information

Annual report of the Board of Directors and financial statements of NV Bekaert SA

The report of the Board of Directors and the financial statements of the parent company, NV Bekaert SA (the 'Company'), are presented below in a condensed form.

The report of the Board of Directors ex Article 3:6 of the Belgian Companies Code is not included in full in the report ex Article 3:32.

Copies of the full Directors' report and of the full financial statements of the Company are available free of charge upon request:

NV Bekaert SA Bekaertstraat 2 BE-8550 Zwevegem Belgium

www.bekaert.com

The statutory auditor has issued an unqualified report on the financial statements of the Company.

The Directors' report and financial statements of the Company, together with the statutory auditor's report, will be deposited with the National Bank of Belgium as provided by law.

Condensed income statement

2023 in thousands of € - Year ended 31 December	2024
Sales 488 429	443 267
Operating result before non-recurring items 25 515	10 070
Non-recurring operational items -583	20
Operating result after non-recurring items 24 932	10 090
Financial result before non-recurring items 136 395	24 930
Non-recurring financial items 124 958	—
Financial result after non-recurring items 261 353	24 930
Profit before income taxes 286 284	35 020
Income taxes 387	2 877
Result for the period 286 671	37 897

Condensed balance sheet after profit appropriation

2023 in thousands of € - 31 December	2024
Fixed assets 2 017 295	2 061 397
Intangible fixed assets 85 807	96 795
Tangible fixed assets 41 565	62 680
Financial fixed assets 1 889 923	1 901 922
Current assets 374 957	386 453
Total assets 2 392 252	2 447 850

Shareholders' equity 1 392 092	1 310 832
Share capital 161 145	159 782
Share premium 39 517	39 517
Revaluation surplus 1 995	1 995
Statutory reserve 17 792	17 792
Unavailable reserve 76 899	74 786
Reserves available for distribution, retained earnings 1 094 744	1 016 960
Provisions 37 855	31 615
Creditors 962 305	1 105 404
Amounts payable after one year 581 650	421 150
Amounts payable within one year 380 655	684 254
Total equity and liabilities 2 392 252	2 447 850

Valuation principles

Valuation and foreign currency translation principles applied in the parent company's financial statements are based on Belgian accounting legislation.

Summary of the annual report of the Board of Directors

The Belgium-based entity's sales amounted to € 443.3 million, a decrease of -9% compared to 2023. The operating result before non-recurring items was € 10.1 million, compared with € 25.5 million in 2023. The decrease of the operating result was a combined effect of lower sales and less reversal of provisions.

Non-recurring items included in the operating result amounted to € 0.02 million in 2024 compared to € -0.6 million last year.

The financial result after non-recurring items was € 24.9 million (versus € 261.4 million in 2023), mainly due to lower dividends received and the gain on disposal of investments in 2023.

The income taxes amounted to € 2.9 million (€ 0.4 million in previous year). This led to a result for the period of € 37.9 million compared with € 286.7 million in 2023.

Environmental programs

The provisions for environmental programs amounted to € 15.7 million (2023: € 15.7 million).

Information on research and development

Information on the company's research and development activities can be found in the "Our knowledge and innovation" section in Part 1 "Strategy and Performance".

Interests in share capital

In connection with the entry into force of the Act of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of significant participations (the Transparency Act), the Company has in its Articles of Association set the thresholds of 3% and 7.50% in addition to the legal thresholds of 5% and each multiple of 5. In 2024, the Company did not receive any transparency notifications. On 31 December 2024, the total number of securities conferring voting rights was 54 286 986. The voting rights attached to the treasury shares held by the Company are suspended. On 31 December 2024, the Company held 2 235 087 treasury shares.

Proposed appropriation of NV Bekaert SA 2024 result

The after-tax result for the year was € 37 897 268 compared with € 286 671 406 for the previous year.

The Board of Directors has proposed that the Annual General Meeting to be held on 14 May 2025 appropriate the above result as follows:

	in €
Result of the year to be appropriated	37 897 268
Transfer from reserves	60 032 185
Profit for distribution	97 929 453

The Board of Directors has proposed that the Annual General Meeting approve the distribution of a gross dividend of € 1.90 per share (2023: € 1.80 per share).

The dividend will be payable in euro on 20 May 2025 by the following banks:

• ING Belgium, BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC Bank, Bank Degroof Petercam and Belfius Bank in Belgium;
• Société Générale in France;
• ABN AMRO Bank in The Netherlands;
• UBS in Switzerland.

Appointments pursuant to the Articles of Association

The term of office for the independent Directors Henriette Fenger Ellekrog and Eriikka Söderström will expire at the close of the Annual General Meeting of 14 May 2025.

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting:

• reappoints Henriette Fenger Ellekrog as independent Director for a term of four years, up and to including the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2029,
• reappoints Eriikka Söderström as independent Director for a term of four years, up and to including the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2029,
• appoints Nicolas D'heygere as Director for a term of one year, up to and including the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2026,
• appoints Toralf Haag as independent Director for a term of one year, up to and including the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2026.

Alternative performance measures

Metric	Definition	Reason for use
Capital employed (CE)	Working capital + net intangible assets + net goodwill + net property, plant and equipment + net RoU Property, plant and equipment. The weighted average CE is weighted by the number of periods that an entity has contributed to the consolidated result.	Capital employed consists of the main balance sheet items that operating management can actively and effectively control to optimize its financial performance, and serves as the denominator of ROCE.
Capital ratio (financial autonomy)	Equity relative to total assets.	This ratio provides a measure of the extent to which the Group is equity-financed.
Current ratio	Current assets to Current liabilities.	This ratio provides a measure for the liquidity of the company. It measures whether a company has enough resources to meet it short-term obligations.
Combined figures	Sum of consolidated companies + 100% of joint ventures and associates after elimination of intercompany transactions (if any). Examples: sales, capital expenditure, number of employees.	In addition to Consolidated figures, which only comprise controlled companies, combined figures provide useful insights of the actual size and performance of the Group including its joint ventures and associates.
EBIT	Operating result (earnings before interest and taxation).	EBIT consists of the main income statement items that operating management can actively and effectively control to optimize its profitability, and a.o. serves as the numerator of ROCE and EBIT interest coverage.
EBIT – underlying (EBITu)	EBIT before operating income and expenses that are related to restructuring programs, impairment losses, business combinations, business disposals, environmental provisions or other events and transactions that have a material one-off effect that is not inherent to the business.	EBIT – underlying is presented to assist the reader's understanding of the operating profitability before one-off items, as it provides a better basis for comparison and extrapolation.
EBITDA	Operating result (EBIT) + depreciation, amortization and impairment of assets + negative goodwill.	EBITDA provides a measure of operating profitability before non-cash effects of past investment decisions and working capital assets.
EBITDA – underlying (EBITDAu)	EBITDA before operating income and expenses that are related to restructuring programs, impairment losses, business combinations, business disposals, environmental provisions or other events and transactions that have a material one-off effect that is not inherent to the business.	EBITDA – underlying is presented to assist the reader's understanding of the operating profitability before one-off items and non-cash effects of past investment decisions and working capital assets, as it provides a better basis for comparison and extrapolation.
EBIT interest coverage	Operating result (EBIT) divided by net interest expense.	The EBIT interest coverage provides a measure of the Group's capability to service its debt through its operating profitability.
Free Cash Flow (FCF)	Cash flows from Operating activities - capex + dividends received - net interest paid	Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash available for the company to repay financial debt or pay dividends to investors.
Gearing	Net debt relative to equity.	Gearing is a measure of the Group's financial leverage and shows the extent to which its operations are funded by lenders versus shareholders.
Margin on sales	EBIT, EBIT-underlying, EBITDA and EBITDA underlying on sales.	Each of these ratios provides a specific measure of operating profitability expressed as a percentage on sales.
Net capitalization	Net debt + equity.	Net capitalization is a measure of the Group's total financing from both lenders and shareholders.
Net debt	Interest-bearing debt after deducting non current and current financial receivables and cash guarantees, short-term deposits, cash and cash equivalents.	Net debt is a measure of debt after deduction of financial assets that can be deployed to repay the gross debt.
Net debt on EBITDA	Net debt divided by EBITDA.	Net debt on EBITDA provides a measure of the Group's capability (expressed as a number of years) to repay its debt through its operating profitability.
Operating free cash flow	Cash flows from Operating activities - capex (net of disposals of fixed assets)	Operating cash flow measures the net cash required to support the business (working capital and capital expenditure needs).

Metric	Definition	Reason for use
Return on capital employed (ROCE)	Operating result (EBIT) relative to the weighted average capital employed.	ROCE provides a measure of the Group's operating profitability relative to the capital resources deployed and managed by operating management.
Return on equity (ROE)	Result for the period relative to average equity.	ROE provides a measure of the Group's net profitability relative to the capital resources provided by its shareholders.
Underlying EPS	(EBITu + interest income - interest expense +/- other financial income and expense - income tax + share in the result of JVs and associates - result attributable to non-controlling interests) divided by the weighted average nr of ordinary shares (excluding treasury shares).	Underlying earnings per share or underlying EPS or EPSu is presented to assist the reader's understanding of the earnings per share before one-off items, as it provides a clearer basis for comparison and extrapolation.
WACC	Cost of debt and cost of equity weighted with a target gearing of 50% (net debt/equity structure) after tax.	WACC is used to assess an investor's return on an investment in the Company.
Operating Working capital	Inventories + trade receivables + bills of exchange received + advanced paid - trade payables - advances received - remuneration and social security payables - employment related taxes. The weighted average WC is weighted by the number of periods that an entity has contributed to the consolidated result.	Working capital includes all current assets and liabilities that operating management can actively and effectively control to optimize its financial performance. It represents the current component of capital employed.
Internal Bekaert Management Reporting	Focusing on the operational performance of the industrial companies of the Group, leaving out financial companies and other non industrial companies, in a flash approach and as such not including all consolidation entries reflected in the full hard-close consolidation on which the annual report is based.	The pragmatic approach enables a short follow-up process regarding the operational performance of the business throughout the year.

in millions of €	Note annual report
Net Debt		2023	2024
Non-current interest-bearing debt		582	421
L/T Lease Liability - non-current		65	75
Current interest-bearing debt		231	282
L/T Lease Liability - current		22	24
Total financial debt	6.18	899	803
Non-current financial receivables and cash guarantees		-10	-11
Current financial receivables and cash guarantees		-2	-2
Short-term deposits		-1	-2
Cash and cash equivalents		-632	-504
Net debt	6.18	254	283
Capital Employed		2023	2024
Intangible assets		69	93
Goodwill		152	166
Property, plant and equipment		1 118	1 200
RoU Property plant and equipment		135	145
Working capital (operating)	6.8	641	653
Capital employed		2 115	2 258
Weighted average capital employed		2 129	2 199

Working capital (operating)		2023	2024
Inventories		789	834
Trade receivables		553	581
Bills of exchange received		56	29
Advances paid		29	25
Trade payables		-633	-668
Advances received		-18	-18
Remuneration and social security payables		-125	-118
Employment-related taxes		-9	-12
Working capital (operating)	6.8	641	653
Weighted average working capital (operating)		658	653
EBIT Underlying to EBIT	5.2
EBITDA		2023	2024
EBIT		334	296
Amortization intangible assets		12	14
Depreciation property, plant & equipment		133	130
Depreciation RoU property, plant & equipment		27	30
Write-downs/(reversals of write-downs) on inventories and receivables		5	-22
Impairment losses/ (reversals of depreciation and impairment losses) on fixed assets		11	10
EBITDA		523	457
EBITDA - Underlying		2023	2024
EBIT - Underlying		388	348
Amortization intangible assets Depreciation property, plant & equipment		12 130	14 126
Depreciation RoU property, plant & equipment		27	30
Write-downs/(reversals of write-downs) on inventories and receivables		3	2
Impairment losses/ (reversals of impairment losses) on fixed assets		—	1
EBITDA - Underlying		561	520
ROCE		2023	2024
EBIT		334	296
Weighted average capital employed		2 129	2 199
ROCE		15.7%	13.5%
EBIT interest coverage		2023	2024
EBIT		334	296
(Interest income)	5.4	-13	-18
Interest expense	5.4	40	38
(interest element of discounted provisions)	5.4	-2	-4
Net interest expense		26	16
EBIT interest coverage		13.1	18.3
ROE (return on equity)		2023	2024
Result for the period		253	244
Average equity (period-weighted)		2 198	2 239
ROE		11.5%	10.9%

Capital ratio (Financial autonomy)	2023	2024
Equity	2 166	2 312
Total assets	4 081	4 162
Financial autonomy	53.1%	55.5%
Gearing (net debt on equity)	2023	2024
Net debt	254	283
Equity	2 166	2 312
Gearing (net debt on equity)	7.3 11.7%	12.2%
Net debt on EBITDA	2023	2024
Net debt	254	283
EBITDA	523	457
Net debt on EBITDA	0.49	0.62
Net debt on EBITDA-underlying	2023	2024
Net debt	254	283
EBITDA-Underlying	561	520
Net debt on EBITDA-underlying	0.45	0.54
Current Ratio	2023	2024
Current Assets	2 195	2 152
Current liabilities	1 148	1 249
Current Ratio	1.9	1.7
Operating free cash flow	2023	2024
Cash flows from operating activities	440	374
Purchase of intangible assets	-19	-26
Purchase of PP&E	-191	-196
Purchase of RoU Land	—	—
Proceeds from disposals of fixed assets Operating free cash flow	15 245	10 162
Free Cash Flow	2023	2024
Cash flows from operating activities	440	374
Purchase of intangible assets	-19	-26
Purchase of property, plant and equipment	-191	-196
Purchase of RoU Land	—	—
Dividends received	60	51
Interest received	13	18
Interest paid	-35	-29
Free Cash Flow	267	193

Underlying earnings per share (EPSu) 2023	2024
EBITu 388	348
Interest income 13	18
(Interest expense) -40	-38
Other financial income/(expense) -39	-19
(Income tax) -62	-63
Share in result of JVs and associates 47	49
(Result attributable to non-controlling interests) 2	-5
Underlying earnings for the period attributable to shareholders of Bekaert 309	291
Basic underlying earnings per share 5.76	5.55
Diluted underlying earnings per share 5.73	5.54

Auditor's Report

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ESG Statements

ESRS 2 General Information

1 Basis for preparation

General basis for preparation(BP1)

Bekaert's Annual Report reflects how we integrate the interests and views of our stakeholders in the way we do business and manage our operations. It is just one element of interaction and communication between us and our stakeholders.

This report covers the consolidated performance indicators for all subsidiaries of the Bekaert Group. Consolidated data apply to the wholly and majority owned subsidiaries of NV Bekaert SA. When specified, the (combined) disclosures in this report include in addition the performance indicators of the joint ventures considered at 100% ownership. Information on material impacts, risks and opportunities through our upstream and downstream value chain has been included in scope of our sustainability statements.

This report covers the activities between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 unless stated differently and if relevant for the report.

Bekaert reports its financial results twice per year (half-year results and full-year results). Bekaert reports annually on its sustainability performance.

ESRS BP1 §5a, b i, b ii, c, d

Disclosures in relation to specific circumstances (BP2)

Value chain estimation, sources of estimation and outcome uncertainty

The use of estimates for performance metrics, including when upstream and downstream value chain data is included, is described in the individual topical disclosures. Overall, metrics related to our own operations have a higher amount of primary data, while value chain metrics are often estimated and therefore have a higher level of measurement uncertainty. All assumptions and potential uncertainties are documented in the topical disclosures.

ESRS 2 BP2 §10, §11

Incorporation by reference

The following information is disclosed by reference:

ESRS	Disclosure description	Referenced in
ESRS 2 General Information
GOV-1	The role of the Board of Directors	Corporate Governance Statements Corporate Governance charter on Bekaert website
GOV-2	Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the Board of Directors	Corporate Governance Statements IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process
GOV-3	Integration of sustainability-related performance in incentive schemes	Remuneration Report S1-5 Targets to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities
GOV-4	Statement on due diligence	S1-4 Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to own workforce S2-2 How we engage with value chain workers
SBM-1	Strategy, business model and value chain	Bekaert at a glance: About Us Financial statements: Segment reporting
SBM-2	Interests and views of stakeholders	Bekaert at a glance; Our stakeholders IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process
IRO-1	Double Materiality Assessment process	SBM-1 Strategy, business model and value chain SBM-2 Interest and views of stakeholders

ESRS	Disclosure description	Referenced in
IRO-2	Disclosure Requirements in ESRS covered by our sustainability statement	Content Index
Environmental
	EU Taxonomy	E1 - SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model E1-3 Our actions and resources related to climate change E3 Water E5-2 Our actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy S2 Workers in the value chain
E1-1	Our transition plan to mitigate climate change	EU Taxonomy E1-3 Our actions and resources related to climate change E1-4 Our climate change targets E5-2 Our actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy
E1 - SBM-3	Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model	Enterprise Risk Management IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process E1-6 Gross Scope 1, 2, 3 and total GHG emissions
E1 - IRO-1	Our processes to identify and assess material climate related impacts, risks and opportunities	E1 - SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model
E1-2	Policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation Energy & climate change policy on our website
E1-3	Our actions and resources related to climate change	EU Taxonomy
E2 - IRO-1	Our processes to identify and assess material pollution related impacts, risks and opportunities	IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process
E2-1	Policies related to substances of concern	Bekaert Safety, Health & Environment policy on our website
E3 - IRO-1	Our processes to identify and assess material water-related impacts, risks and opportunities	IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process Physical risk assessment study in E1 - SBM-3
		E3-2 Our actions and resources related to water
E3-1 E3-2	Policies related to water Our actions and resources related to water	Water policy on our website E1-3 Our actions and resources related to climate change
E3-3 E5 - IRO-1	Targets related to water Our processes to identify and assess material resource use and circular economy-related impacts, risks and opportunities	E3-2 Our actions and resources related to water IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process
E5-1	Policies related to resource use and circular economy	Resource use & circular economy policy on our website
E5-2	Our actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy	E5-5 Resource outflows
Social
S1 - SBM-3	Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model	SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business mode
S1-1	Policies related to own workforce	Human Rights policy, Bekaert Code of Conduct and Safety, Health & Environment policy on our website
S1-2	How we engage with our workforce	S1-1 Policies related to own workforce
S1-4	Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to our workforce	S1-1 Policies related to own workforce
S1-6 S2 - SBM-3	Our employees' data Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model	Segment reporting in the Financial Statements S2-1 Policies related to value chain workers S2-2 How we engage with value chain workers S2-4 Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to value chain workers
S2-1	Policies related to value chain workers	S1-1 Policies related to own workforce S1-3 Speak up ! Our processes and tool to remediate negative impacts Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct on our website S2-2 How we engage with value chain workers Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing on our website
S2-3	Our processes to remediate negative impacts and raise concerns	S1-3 Speak up ! Our processes and tool to remediate negative impacts S2-1 Policies related to value chain workers
S2-4	Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to value chain workers	S2-2 How we engage with value chain workers about impacts
S4 -	Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their
SBM-3	interaction with strategy and business model	IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process
S4-1	Policies related to consumers and end-users	S1-1 Policies related to own workforce
S4-2	Processes to engage with consumers and end-users	Bekaert website
S4-3	Processes to remediate negative impacts and raise concerns	S1-3 Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for own workers to raise concerns

ESRS	Disclosure description	Referenced in
Governance
G1 GOV-1	The role of the Board of Directors	GOV-1 The role of the Board of Directors
G1-1	Business conduct policies and corporate culture	S1-1 Policies related to own workforce S1-4 Taking action on material impacts on own workforce, and approaches to managing material risks and pursuing material opportunities related to own workforce, and effectiveness of those actions S1-2 Processes for engaging with own workforce and workers' representatives about impacts S1-3 Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for own workers to raise concerns The Bekaert anti-bribery & corruption policy on our website S2-1 Policies related to value chain workers
G1-3	Prevention and detection of corruption and bribery	G1-1 Business conduct policies and corporate culture

ESRS 2 BP2 §16

Datapoints derived from other EU legislations

None of the EU legislations as per Appendix B of ESRS 2 are applicable with the exception of the EU Climate Law. We refer to section E1-1 on page 196 and section E1-7 on page 212.

2 Governance

The role of the Board of Directors (GOV-1)

The number of executive and non-executive members in our Board of Directors is disclosed in the Corporate Governance Statement, subsection Board of Directors on page 42 of this report. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §21a

In accordance with Belgian law, NV Bekaert SA has no employee representation at Board level. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §21b

The experience of the members of the Board of Directors relevant to sectors, products and geographical locations is disclosed in the Corporate Governance Statement, subsection Board of Directors on page 42 of this report and on our website. The Directors have access to a Board education program that includes sustainability and ESG leadership. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §21c

Information about gender, age and nationality diversity of the Board of Directors is disclosed in the Corporate Governance Statement, subsection Diversity on page 45 of this report. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §21d

33.33% of the Directors are independent. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §21e

The role and responsibilities of the Board with regard to sustainability matters is disclosed in the Corporate Governance Statement sections Board of Directors (page 42) and Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (page 43) in this report. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §22b, ESRS 2 GOV-1 §22c i, c ii, c iii

The oversight responsibility with respect to sustainability and cybersecurity has been integrated into the existing Board and Board Committees structure. The overall responsibility rests with the Board of Directors, supported by specific responsibilities assigned to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (process and controls; assurance; disclosures and reporting) and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (Board skills; talent and culture; accountability and link to executive pay). The Double Materiality methodology, process and outcome are reviewed and discussed by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and reported out to the Board. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §22a

Information about the mandates and responsibilities of the Board of Directors and the Board Committees, amongst others on impacts, risks, and opportunities, are detailed in the Corporate Governance Charter available on our website. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §22b

All Directors are selected and nominated based on a Board skills matrix. This matrix ensures that the Board members have the required skills and necessary experience to address Bekaert's current and future challenges and that the Board's composition is sufficiently diverse. The skills matrix also identifies any gaps that future Directors can potentially fill. It covers various areas, including sustainability and cybersecurity expertise. Additionally, a Board education program is available to the Directors, which includes programs on how to tackle sustainability matters at Board level. ESRS 2 GOV-1 §23

The Board of Directors, supported by its committees, regularly reviews the ESG strategy (including overseeing the progress of targets). The main subjects reviewed by the Board of Directors and Board Committees are listed in the Corporate Governance Statement, respectively in the subsections Board of Directors (page 42) and Committees of the Board of Directors (page

The Bekaert Group Executive deploys the strategy and monitors its implementation (including progress of the targets) in response to the material impacts, risks and opportunities during annual recurring strategic planning cycles as well as during dedicated topical meetings. The Business Units' Divisional CEOs are accountable for the implementation of the sustainability strategy (including the progress towards the targets) within their respective business strategies.

ESRS 2 GOV-1 §22d

Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the Board of Directors (GOV-2)

The main subjects reviewed by the Board of Directors and Board Committees and how the Board is made aware of these are listed in the Corporate Governance Statement, respectively in the subsections Board of Directors (page 42) and Committees of the Board of Directors (page 43).

Sustainability and cybersecurity have become an integral part of the matters reviewed by the Board of Directors. The Board considers impacts, risks, and opportunities when overseeing strategy, making decisions on major transactions, and managing risks.

The list of material impacts, risk and opportunities is disclosed in our Double Materiality Assessment (page 182) of this report. ESRS 2 GOV-2 §26

Integration of sustainability-related performance in incentive schemes (GOV-3)

An ESG basket (CO2e reduction scope 1 & 2, sustainable solutions as a % of sales and a safety target) with a weight of 10% applies to the long-term incentives (period 2024-2026) of the senior managers and the Bekaert Group Executive. More information is disclosed in the Remuneration Report section "Statement of the remuneration policy used in 2024 for the Board of Directors and members of the BGE" on page 51 of this report.

A gender diversity target with a weight of 10% was included in the short-term incentives targets for the management and the Bekaert Group Executive with respect to 2024. More information is disclosed in section S1-5 on page 231 of this report. ESRS 2 GOV-3 §29

Statement on due diligence (GOV-4)

A detailed description of our due diligence process is disclosed in S1-4 on page 228 and in S2-2 on page 242. ESRS 2 GOV-4 §30, 32

Risk management and internal controls over sustainability reporting (GOV-5)

Bekaert has defined and deployed detailed process flows to support ESG data collection.

An adequate risk and control framework based on the COSO¹ framework has been put in place to reinforce the second line of defense control assurance activities. The framework addresses any potential risks related to ESG reporting in the area of commonly accepted risk domains, such as outdated process flows, incomplete, inaccurate and inconsistent data reporting, inaccurate reconciliation and reporting, improper access management and unauthorized modification of data and conflict of interest and/or unethical behavior. Controls have been defined both from a corporate perspective and from an entity-level perspective.

Internal audits are conducted within Bekaert throughout the year to provide assurance around the accuracy and completeness of our sustainability reporting. On a periodic basis, results of these audits are presented to the Bekaert Group Executive and the Bekaert Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. ESRS 2 GOV-5 §36

3 Strategy

Strategy, business model and value chain (SBM-1)

Bekaert is a company with a global footprint, employing 20 795 people, providing a variety of products and offering services to a wide international customer base in established and emerging markets (see the About Us section on page 9 for more information as well as the Segment Reporting section within the Financial Statements on page 88 for a breakdown of total sales by business unit). ESRS 2 SMB-1 §40 a i-iv, b, c, ESRS 2 SBM-1 §42 a-c

Sustainability is an integrated part of our business strategy. We are determined to improve quality of life and to create value for all our stakeholders. We want to Create a Better Tomorrow. Our ambition is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move – safe, smart and sustainable.

Our sustainability strategy and goals are based on 3 pillars:

Protect the planet

Driven by the relevant sustainability challenges of climate change, dematerialization, depletion of natural resources, circularity, energy transition, green technologies and changing workforce trends, we want to be the partner of choice for our customers, developing solutions that enable new mobility, sustainable construction, and the transition to clean energy. We recognize the relevance of carbon-neutrality, energy and material efficiency, circularity and the use of energy from renewable sources are the levers we address.

We are working to meet our customers' expectations and aim to be part of the solution through the offering of sustainable solutions. By accelerating our innovation agenda in key sectors and by responsibly using materials and energy, we contribute to a low-carbon and circular economy and preserve our natural resources. We see sustainability as a key lever to accelerate our business transformation by evolving our portfolio mix and serve end markets.

Together, we drive and accelerate the shift towards sustainable solutions and sustainable end markets.

Next to the above, we drive operational excellence through decarbonization, waste minimization, water management and by creating a safe environment for all.

¹ COSO stands for the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, which is a joint initiative of five private sector organizations and is dedicated to providing thought leadership through the development of frameworks and guidance on internal control, enterprise risk management and fraud deterrence.

Put people first

We create a diverse, inclusive and safe environment for our employees and make a positive difference in the communities where we operate.

We aim to be a force for equality and opportunity for all.

We realize our employees want to understand the purpose of their work. For this reason, our innovation and sustainability strategy is very important for them and they appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the creation of a better tomorrow.

We strive to be a good corporate citizen in the regions we work.

Act with integrity

We embed transparency, collaboration and accountability in our business practices.

We are committed to ethical, fair and legally compliant processes as well as transparent corporate governance and comprehensive reporting.

The world has become more complex. We understand that partnerships with our suppliers and our customers are highly relevant to achieve our sustainability goals and to make future success sustainable and resilient. Global supply chains offer risks and opportunities. To mitigate the risks, we established clear governance rules and have supplier risk management processes in place.

Together these 3 pillars respond to our material sustainability impacts and risks and allow us to leverage the opportunities.

As part of our ongoing strategic planning cycles, each business unit assesses and defines their sustainability impact. Based on a mapping of external forces driving the sustainability agenda, views on expected benefits for customers, investors and other stakeholders are continuously collected as the landscape evolves constantly.

We see a slower than expected pace of decarbonization (including areas such as technology, energy transition and government policy) in some regions. There are fundamental prerequisites outside of our control, such as technological advancements, diversification of energy mix, market demand for green solutions, evolving customer preferences and government leadership and effective policy. These prerequisites might impact our ability to reach some of our targets. We will evaluate our ambition and targets as part of our next strategic planning cycle.

ESRS 2 SBM-1 §40a, e

Interests and views of stakeholders (SBM-2)

Bekaert creates value for its stakeholders by delivering on the company's strategy and objectives, both in terms of financial performance and in addressing society's environmental and social opportunities and challenges.

As a publicly listed company with a global business scope and footprint, we engage and interact with the parties that have an interest in our organization based on the outcomes of our actions. Information about our stakeholders is disclosed in the "Our stakeholders" section on page 17.

We listen to the views and expectations of our key stakeholders and want to build an effective dialog with them. We believe this interdependency is mutually beneficial for long-term positive progress for all. Engagement is organized through various channels depending on the stakeholder. More information on stakeholder views and how we integrate their interests into our strategy has been included in the topical disclosures.

In addition, a representative number of our stakeholders were interviewed during our double materiality assessment to determine and confirm which topics they consider most material.

More information on our double materiality assessment is disclosed in section "IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process" on page 182.

ESRS 2 SMB-2 §45 a-av, b

External ESG driving forces and expectations from key stakeholders are taken into account during our strategic review and planning process.

As part of Business Unit specific strategy deep dive sessions, our Board of Directors is informed on the views and interest of stakeholders and expectations in terms of sustainability.

In addition, the outcome of the double materiality assessment has been reviewed and discussed by the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee and reported to the Board.

ESRS 2 SMB-2 §45c, d

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (SBM-3)

Our sustainability reporting is based on the assessment of sustainability topics that are most material to our stakeholders and to Bekaert.

Material topics have been identified following the double materiality assessment process, taking two perspectives into account:

• Impact materiality: perspective of the (positive or negative, actual and potential) impact that Bekaert has on the environment and society.
• Financial materiality: perspective of the potential financial effects (risks and/or opportunities) on Bekaert of a sustainability topic.

The double materiality process resulted in 8 material sustainability topics (indicated in orange), either because of the impact materiality perspective or the financial materiality perspective, or both.

This assessment does not imply that we consider non-material topics to be irrelevant.

We have clustered the outcome of our assessment per ESRS topic, demonstrating the topics that are most material to Bekaert. They all relate and are addressed in our strategy of Protecting the Planet, Putting People First and Acting with Integrity.

The table below provides a brief description of our material impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs), the link with our business model and strategy as well as the current effects, responses and resilience to address or capture material topics. The table specifies whether the impacts, risks and opportunities pertain to our own operations (O), or our upstream (U) or downstream (D) value chains In addition, we have indicated the time horizon as well as the actual or potential impacts (listed with A or P) in line with ESRS requirements.

Bekaert has an impact on people and the environment through its activities and value chain actions. Some impacts originate from the business we are in and the activities we perform (listed as "inherent" (I) in the table) whereas other impacts are connected and addressed via our strategic plans we put in place (listed as "embedded" (E) in the table).

Type	Description, effect, response and resilience
Climate change mitigation
Negative impact	Carbon intensity of our operations and supply chain
	Our production processes are energy intensive and we emit CO2e, primarily indirectly through our use of purchased electricity but also directly where we use gas. Our wire rod suppliers (Bekaert's main raw material) have a high carbon footprint. We continuously work to make our own operations more energy efficient whilst working in parallel on a long-term strategy of electrification. We source renewables and install on-site power generation (solar and wind) where available and technically/economically feasible. We address our suppliers' emissions by shifting from purchasing steel from a high carbon-emitting process to more steel from low carbon-emitting process options wherever economically feasible and meeting customer demands. By balancing cost and energy required for our own operations and input materials for the supply chain, we secure our financial resilience while being a responsible company.
Positive impact	Offering sustainable solutions to the markets essential for the transition to a net zero world
	Through the variety of products and solutions we offer to our customers, we contribute to global decarbonization and the reduction in global warming. We aim to have 65% of our revenue generated from sustainable solutions by 2030, but we cannot do this alone. In order to meet this aim, a clear market pull is required, including a willingness to pay. Favorable political and economic boundary conditions in the countries where we operate are also a prerequisite.
Risk	Financial impacts as a result of decarbonizing our operations and supply chain and of prevailing regulations
	Steel is a hard to abate sector and will require significant efforts and investments. We depend very much on how the steel sector evolves and whether or not steel from low carbon emitting processes is available in the quantities, qualities and the competitive prices that the value chain requires. In addition, all this needs to be backed up by adequate policy making and international, fair trade schemes in order to provide a level playing field.
Opportunity	Transformation of portfolio with clean tech solutions
	We see an opportunity to further transform and evolve our portfolio mix and product offering with clean solutions that will enable decarbonization and reduce global warming. However, for this opportunity to materialize, we need a clear market pull and a willingness to pay, as well as favorable political and economic boundary conditions in the countries where we operate.
	Hazardous substances & materials
Negative impact	Caring for people and the environment through chemical management
	Inherent to the nature of our business, Bekaert uses hazardous substances and chemicals in its production processes. Bekaert uses hazardous substances and materials in a controlled way in its production process to minimize any impact on people and the environment.
Risk	Regulations impacting the use of substances and chemicals in our production processes
	The use of certain substances and chemicals currently used in our production processes could be
	restricted in the future. We monitor regulatory developments and are preparing for potential changes through our ongoing focus on technology and our efforts to innovate.
Water
Negative impact	Water management with increased focus on water-stressed areas
	We use water directly in our production processes and also indirectly for evaporative cooling purposes. We focus on water saving projects especially but not limited to water stressed regions.
Risk	Impact of regulatory changes and climate change
	Access to water could be impacted by climate change in water stressed regions in the future. Next to this, potential future regulatory changes on water usage could eventually also have an impact. First and foremost, Bekaert is taking actions to minimize the use of fresh water. Relevant regulatory developments are also being monitored.
	Circular economy and resource use
Negative impact	Responsible resource management
	The depletion of natural resources has a negative impact on the planet. We strive to reduce sourcing of virgin materials with a clear aim to increase the amount of recycled materials that we purchase whenever there is customer demand. In our sourcing strategy we balance the availability of recycled materials, performance and cost. Next to this we work to reduce waste by embedding circular economy principles in our production processes and product offerings.
Positive impact	Circularity
	Our aim is to minimize waste, promote recycling and reuse, enhance resource efficiency and reduce dependency on virgin materials through innovative circular design, co-developments & partnerships. Circular design principles are part of our innovation strategy.

Type	Description, effect, response and resilience
Risk	Supply chain risk related to recycled input materials and technology shift
	We see the availability of sufficient recycled input materials as a potential supply chain risk. Externally driven changes in customer demands or required speed of technological changes may reduce our competitiveness. Impactful technology changes can affect sectors that are relevant to Bekaert. We strive to protect our market position and market share through innovation, co-development and
	partnerships.
Opportunity	Co-developing sustainable solutions across the value chain
	We strive to strengthen our market position and market share through innovation, co-development
	and partnerships and sustainable and circular solutions.
Own workforce
Positive impact	Put people first
	We enhance employee well-being and working conditions through a focus on zero harm, medical plans, assistance programs, and automation solutions.
Negative impact	Creating a no-harm-to-anyone and diverse working environment
	Due to the nature of the business environment that we operate in, we have to address health and
	safety risks as well as focusing on the diversity of our workforce. We continue to address these areas via different programs and initiatives.
Risk	Creating safe working conditions and fostering talent
	Creating safe working conditions, attracting and developing talent are important requirements for the
	sustainability of our business. We invest in safety compliance programs and attract talent to help to grow our business.
Opportunity	Talent, diversity and innovation driving people and business growth
	Empowering innovation through talent development, training, and cultural diversity, leads to richer ideas, better decision-making, and increased productivity. This strategy increases our opportunity to attract and retain the talent that we need in order to be successful in the future.
Workers in the value chain
Negative impact - Positive impact	Respect of human rights across the value chain
	Our upstream supply chain, primarily for our main raw material, can be a harsh working environment due to the type of business (metals), with industry-specific health and safety exposures. We promote the respect of health, safety and human rights across the value chain, and with OECD guidelines by enforcing our supplier code of conduct and by the due diligence programs that we have in place.
Risk	Supply chain risk management
	As in many international companies, we might face reputational damage and liability exposure arising from supplier controversies and non-compliance with evolving human rights due diligence
	regulations. Risk management is undertaken via our supplier due diligence, human rights and supplier code of conduct programs.
Cyber & data security
Risk	Protecting data security and privacy
	A cyber-attack might lead to operational and financial impact, data breaches or safety issues.
	We have robust cyber-attack prevention and data privacy programs in place.
Business Ethics
Positive impact - Risk	Embedding ethical business practices in everything we do
	We promote strong ethical business practices and ESG is part of our supplier management
	framework. Integrity and trust are core values of our business culture and essential in our ambition to be the
	leading partner for our customers.

Current financial effects from sustainable solutions and sustainable operations related to risks and opportunities have been included in the EU Taxonomy Revenue, Capex and Opex sections and in our financial statements.

There are no known material risks and opportunities at this stage for which there is a significant risk of material adjustment within the next annual reporting period.

All material impacts, risks and opportunities are covered by ESRS disclosure requirements. There are no additional entity-specific disclosures.

More detailed information on how we address these impacts, risks and opportunities, is disclosed in the topical sections under 'Environment', 'Social', and 'Governance'.

To ensure the resilience and adaptability of our strategic plans and business models with respect to material topics, we integrate the following steps into our strategic planning and review process looking at medium-term impact (up to 2030):

• We have mapped business unit-specific material risks and opportunities: by utilizing the Enterprise Risk Management framework (ERM), double materiality assessment, and physical climate risk studies we have identified and prioritized key risks and opportunities.
• We continuously monitor the development of the external forces relevant to our business and market dynamics: we monitor and evaluate trends, regulatory changes, and requirements that could impact our strategy, including insights from regulators, customers, suppliers, competitors, employees, and investors.
• We assess the impact of strategic plans on sustainability targets: we calculate and forecast the effects of our strategic initiatives on our sustainability goals.

ESRS SBM-3 §48 a-d, f-h

4 Impact, Risk and Opportunity management

Double materiality assessment process (IRO-1)

Our methodology and process

Bekaert performed its first double materiality assessment in line with the guidelines of the CSRD, as well as in accordance with the ESRSs end of 2023. We performed a minor update in 2024 mainly to fine-tune the level of disaggregation, mapping of connections between impacts and dependencies as well as to capture the outcome of the 2024 ERM exercise.

A 5-step approach was used to perform the double materiality assessment, based on the ESRS guidelines:

In Phase 1, based on a good understanding of the business context, we defined the purpose and scope of the assessment. This included mapping Bekaert's value chain, key affected stakeholders, and the activities performed throughout the value chain. Furthermore, a stakeholder engagement approach for this double materiality exercise was defined.

Our entire value chain was considered during the double materiality assessment and was delineated at the Bekaert Group level as well as in upstream and downstream processes (more information is disclosed in section 3 Strategy SBM-1 on page 177 and SBM-2 on page 178).

In Phase 2 we identified the Sustainability Topics and their related impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs) through stakeholder consultation and supporting documentation analysis.

We engaged with affected stakeholders, or stakeholders who could inform on their interests via interviews.

More than 60 internal and external stakeholders were interviewed with the assistance of our external advisor.

Internal stakeholders consisted of Bekaert professionals with business and/or subject matter expertise on specific ESG topics and who have a thorough understanding of the wider sustainability agenda at Bekaert and the link to the Bekaert strategy.

External stakeholders included suppliers, customers, financial institutions, and sector organizations, where the emphasis was put on value chain impacts, risks and opportunities, and on potential synergies to capitalize on sustainability in a collaborative manner.

During the process, internal and external documents were analyzed. These included policies, strategy documents, sector reports, reports from peers, customer questionnaires, supplier information, the outcome of the ERM exercise, analyst and rating reports, and investor questions, as well as key findings from the supplier risk due diligence process.

Bekaert assessed the materiality of all Sustainability Topics covered by the sector-agnostic ESRS² . To facilitate the IRO identification, several ESRS (sub)topics were clustered into a tailored list of Sustainability Topics relevant for Bekaert's business activities and stakeholders. The overview of the Sustainability Topics included in the double materiality exercise is presented below.

² ESRS Application Requirement 16

Environmental	Social	Governance
1 Climate change adaptation	8 Own workforce	13 Business ethics
2 Climate change mitigation	9 Workers in value chain and human rights
3 Pollution	10 Local communities
4 Hazardous substances and materials	11 Cyber and data security
5 Water	12 Product stewardship
6 Biodiversity
7 Circular economy

In Phase 3 we assessed the IROs associated with each of these 13 Sustainability Topics in detail to determine the impact and financial materiality and, subsequently, which IROs and which Sustainability Topics are considered material.

As required by ESRS, we used the following criteria:

• Impact materiality: severity (scale, scope and remediability) and likelihood
• Financial materiality: magnitude of financial effect and likelihood

The descriptions of the materiality criteria were tailored to Bekaert's business operations. Magnitude of financial effect and likelihood, as well as the prioritization, were aligned with Bekaert's ERM methodology.

Evaluation criteria for impact materiality

Different ranges were defined to classify the magnitude of scale (from minimal to absolute), scope (from limited to global), remediability (easy to remediate in the short-term to non-remediable) and likelihood (from very low to very high, in line with ERM).

Evaluation criteria for financial materiality

Financial materiality assessment criteria were based on Bekaert's ERM methodology to align with existing business processes on risk management.

Several enterprise risks and enterprise opportunities are linked to Sustainability Topics and were considered in this double materiality assessment. We also made a mapping of the connection between impacts and dependencies with risks that may arise from those impacts and dependencies.

Finally, a materiality calculation approach and materiality thresholds were defined as put forward by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG):

• Impact materiality: scoring from 0 to 15 (<5 minimal impact, ≥5 to <8: informative, ≥8 to <10: important, ≥10 to <12: significant, ≥12: critical). Topics that scored 8 and above were considered material.
• Financial materiality; scoring ranges from 0 to 5 (<1: non-existent, ≥1 to <2: minimal, ≥2 to <3: informative, ≥3 to <4: significant and ≥4: critical). Topics that scored 3 and above were considered material.

A longlist of IROs was prepared by the Bekaert core team and the external consultant, which resulted in a shortlist based on the outcome of the interviews, scoring as per the set evaluation criteria, and review and validation by the core team, the consulted subject matter experts, and the Steering Committee.

While at this stage we have not directly engaged with external stakeholders to review the outcomes of our double materiality assessment, we have proactively incorporated, as a valid proxy, valuable insights from our interviews and external affairs colleagues. Through ongoing dialog with our key stakeholders, we ensure a comprehensive understanding of their interests and perspectives.

Additionally, our ongoing engagement activities within the communities where we operate provide a solid foundation for assessing the impacts and risks most material to us.

In Phase 4 we reviewed and calibrated the process and validated the double materiality outcome with the Steering Committee, the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE), and the Board of Directors via the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

In Phase 5 we drafted a final double materiality assessment report.

ESRS SBM-3 §53 a-c, ESRS IRO-2 §59

Embedded in business processes

The double materiality process to identify, assess and manage impacts, risks and opportunities has been included in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) data collection tool leading to consistency and allowing for periodical updates and monitoring of identified impacts, risks and opportunities.

The double materiality assessment outcome serves as a solid foundation to further fuel Bekaert's sustainability agenda and the overall strategy of the company. The outcome was included in the 2025 and 2030 Strategic Planning process, to ensure alignment with the organization's strategic goals and stakeholder expectations.

Monitoring of actual and potential impacts on people and environment is done by reviewing findings of due diligence processes (such as supplier risk due diligence and human rights findings), Business Unit specific impact assessments (as part of combined ERM and double materiality review sessions) with a focus on business specific and geographical differences that might give rise to heightened risk of adverse impacts.

The double materiality assessment is a dynamic exercise due to a continuously evolving business context. We will review and update our double materiality assessment should significant changes occur.

ESRS SBM-3 §53 d-h

Disclosure Requirements in ESRS covered by our sustainability statement (IRO-2)

The table with disclosure requirements that Bekaert reports on is disclosed in the section "Content Index" on page 253.

ESRS IRO-2 §56

Environmental

EU Taxonomy

This section covers the key performance indicators and accompanying information required under the EU Taxonomy (Regulation EU 2020/852¹ and the related Delegated Acts² ).

The EU Taxonomy aims to channel capital towards sustainable activities, with the end-goal of financing sustainable growth and achieving the EU objective of becoming climate neutral by 2050.

Reporting on our contribution to the environment through the EU Taxonomy is in line with Bekaert's ambition to create sustainable value for all stakeholders.

In compliance with the mandatory requirements for EU Taxonomy reporting, we reported on the eligibility on the first two EU Taxonomy objectives, Climate Change Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation, in 2021.

In 2022, we expanded our disclosures to include alignment with these two environmental objectives. With the publication of the delegated act pertaining to the remaining four environmental objectives³ , since 2023 our analysis considers all six environmental objectives of EU Taxonomy as well as the further amendments and recommendations from the European Commission. Certain aspects of the EU Taxonomy regulation are complex and open to interpretation. Bekaert has prepared its EU Taxonomy reporting for fiscal year 2024 on a best effort basis, assessing compliance with the Taxonomy criteria using the latest guidance available and making assumptions or estimates where required. Bekaert's approach in determining eligibility and alignment with the EU Taxonomy regulation is further explained in the sections below.

• 1 Regulation EU 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on the 22 06 2020.
• 2 The Climate Delegated Act (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of 4 June 2021) and the Disclosure Delegated Act (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178 of 6 July 2021).
• 3 The Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2486 of 21 November 2023 with respect to four environmental objectives: 'Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources', 'transition to a circular economy', "pollution prevention and control" and "protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems".

Below we report on our EU Taxonomy eligibility and alignment for 2024, expressed through three key performance indicators: our share of eligible/aligned, eligible/non-aligned and non-eligible activities in the Bekaert consolidated sales of 2024, capital expenditure additions and "applicable" operating expenditures.

Note: consolidated sales is the terminology used in the Bekaert income statement. It has the same definition as "net turnover" as used in the EU Taxonomy. We refer to note 2.4 in the Financial Statements on page 85 of this report for more detailed information on our revenue recognition principles.

EU Taxonomy eligibility assessment process

An "eligible economic activity" is one that is described in the EU Taxonomy, regardless of whether it meets all the technical screening criteria laid out for that activity. To evaluate our EU Taxonomy eligibility, we have mapped all products manufactured by NV Bekaert SA and its subsidiaries, the applicable expenses incurred and investments made, and matched them with the activities described in the EU Taxonomy.

To facilitate this exercise, we first assessed the eligibility of our products and expenses in relation to the descriptions in such Delegated Act, using NACE codes (Revision 2) and other reference classifications provided by the Sustainable Finance Platform as additional guides.

We collaborated with each of our four business units to perform the mapping exercise. In calculating the key performance indicators, we only considered values of products specifically made for the eligible activities. We took into consideration each of the elements included in the activity description in the delegated acts, and when in doubt we referred to the technical screening criteria and the Technical Expert Group Final Report – Technical Annex for further information on which products manufactured by Bekaert could be assessed as eligible or not.

As mentioned, certain aspects of the EU Taxonomy regulation are complex and open to interpretation. Therefore, we determined the eligibility of our products on a best effort basis using the latest guidance available and keeping in mind the philosophy of EU Taxonomy that redirects capital towards sustainable activities that are required for the net-zero future, where key component suppliers such as Bekaert play a significant role.

The eligibility assessment determined that Bekaert's current activities contribute to the climate change mitigation objective of the EU Taxonomy for the activities listed below.

• 3.1 'Manufacture of renewable technologies'
• 3.2 'Manufacture of equipment for the production and use of hydrogen'
• 3.5 'Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings'
• 3.6. 'Manufacture of other low carbon technologies'
• 3.20 'Manufacture, installation, and servicing of high, medium and low voltage electrical equipment for electrical transmission and

distribution that result in or enable a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation'

• 9.1 'Close to market research, development and innovation'

As the EU Taxonomy evolves, we remain committed to staying informed and staying abreast of future developments, in order to explore new opportunities to make further contributions to its other environmental objectives as well.

EU Taxonomy alignment assessment process

Bekaert is committed to creating a more sustainable world through our sustainable solutions. More information about our initiatives and sustainable products and solutions can be found in section E5-2 on page 219.

For EU Taxonomy alignment, the following criteria must be taken into consideration:

• Substantial Contribution (SC)
• Do No Significant Harm (DNSH)
• Minimum Social Safeguards (MSS)

A. Substantial contribution and scope

Bekaert's sustainability strategy and SBTi-approved targets demonstrate a holistic approach that adheres to the EU Taxonomy alignment criteria (find more information in section SBM-1 of this report).

Given the complexity of the EU Taxonomy regulation, some criteria require additional clarification and interpretation. In the following section, we highlight a number of key considerations in Bekaert's EU Taxonomy assessment:

• Substantial contribution to 3.1. "Manufacture of renewable technologies": Bekaert produces key components for the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies. The substantial contribution criteria for this activity align with the activity description. Hence, if a product is deemed Taxonomy-eligible under activity 3.1, we determined that the "substantial contribution" criterion was satisfied.
• Substantial contribution to activity 3.2. "Manufacture of products for the use of hydrogen": Bekaert produces components that enable the production of green hydrogen. Given the complexity of the criteria to be met under the current regulation and also based on the low output of green hydrogen production in the world today, Bekaert's intent is to confirm the alignment of its hydrogen products in upcoming years. Bekaert has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions for green hydrogen production for over 20 years and therefore, it is very likely that the current assessment is an underestimation of our green activities.
• Substantial contribution to 3.5. 'Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings': Bekaert is one of the world's leading suppliers of innovative burners and heat exchangers for gas boilers. According to our knowledge, the gas burners cannot meet the EU Taxonomy criteria. Improving the rating is only possible by combining it with other environmentally friendly technologies such as hybrid or hydrogen ready boilers.

A certain proportion of our solutions are already implemented in hybrid boilers but we lack traceability due to being far from the end-product in the value chain. Given the complexity of the criteria to be met, we don't claim any alignment for this activity in 2024, which could be considered as an underestimation of our green activities. However, we have several initiatives ongoing to improve traceability for hybrid boilers, as well as leveraging our existing technology and know-how in developments meeting substantial contribution criteria of EU Taxonomy. • Substantial contribution to 3.20 'Manufacture, installation, and servicing of high, medium and low voltage electrical equipment for electrical transmission and distribution that result in or enable a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation': Bekaert produces key

components for offshore and overhead power cables which are essential for the transmission and distribution of renewable energy and electrification. Our products facilitate the efficient connection of offshore windmills and islands to the mainland, supporting the reconfiguration and strengthening of the grid. This enables the transmission of renewable energy and enhances overall energy efficiency in both existing and new power lines.

• Substantial contribution to activity 3.6. 'Manufacture of other low carbon technologies':

• Substantial life cycle GHG emission savings: for each product considered under this activity, Bekaert carried out third party verified Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) for alignment. This is consistent with our commitment to communicate the environmental sustainability of our products in a credible and transparent manner. We consider life cycle GHG emission savings substantial where the total life cycle emissions of the Bekaert product are below the ones of the best performing alternative.
• Best performing alternative technology/ product/solution: this is defined as the mostused product/technology on the market with the same core functionalities as the Bekaert product considered under this activity. Considering the fact that the publicly available information for alternative products is limited, we mostly chose a representative example from our product portfolio for comparative LCAs, and where no representative example was available, we modeled the competitor
• products based on certain assumptions. • Substantial contribution to activity 9.1. 'Close to market research, development and innovation': Bekaert actively researches product innovations that reduce, remove or avoid GHG emissions along the life cycle of products. The expenditures related to technologies in this field that have been demonstrated in an industrially relevant environment., i.e. TRL6 level, are reported under activity 9.1, which is a small percentage of all sustainable product innovation efforts taking place at Bekaert due to not meeting the criteria of TRL6. To demonstrate GHG savings, the same approach as mentioned above for substantial contribution of activity 3.6 was applied where possible. In cases where publicly available information is limited, we made assumptions to the best of our knowledge to estimate if potential GHG emission savings would occur.

B. Do No Significant Harm

As most of the eligible activities considered by Bekaert (3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.20) require complying with the same Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) requirements, Bekaert has developed a systematic approach in assessing the compliance with these requirements:

• Generic criteria for DNSH to pollution prevention and control regarding use and presence of chemicals: As a global manufacturing company, Bekaert is subject to multiple regulations concerning the use and presence of chemicals and follows local regulations accordingly. A study was performed to determine and ensure compliance of key manufacturing locations with the criteria set out by the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act Appendix C. In 2024, an in-depth compliance assessment against the requirements of DNSH criteria was performed in all sites, using the safety data sheets of chemicals stored in our chemicals management tool as basis.
• General criteria for DNSH to water: At Bekaert, we are committed to reducing our impacts related to water withdrawal, consumption and discharge, especially in water stressed regions. We have a Water policy and water saving programs in place to reduce our impact. Additional information is available in section E3 Water.
• General criteria for DNSH to biodiversity: We have screened our sites in relation to their proximity to, and their potential impact on, designated protected areas and/or areas of high biodiversity value. The vast majority of Bekaert sites are located in industrial zones. There is to date to the best of our knowledge no evidence of any environmental impact from Bekaert operations on these protected areas.
• Generic criteria for DNSH to climate change adaptation: An in-depth climate risk study was conducted, starting in 2022, to assess the impact of physical climate change risks on all of Bekaert's global operations. In 2023 and 2024, Bekaert further continued to fine-tune this study focusing on adaptation solutions, and mapping the main exposures of key suppliers. More information is available in section E1 - SBM-3 under subsection Physical Climate Risk Assessment on page 199
• Criteria for the transition to a circular economy: Bekaert is dedicated to continuously enhancing the circularity of its products. This includes designing for high durability, recyclability, and reuse, as well as incorporating secondary raw materials. Additionally, we prioritize waste management practices that favor recycling over disposal in our manufacturing process. We assessed the feasibility of the EU Taxonomy circular economy criteria for our eligible and aligned products and adopted relevant techniques where possible. We continue to actively work toward making our company more circular in the future. Additional details can be found in section E5-2 on page 219 of this report.

For products that are listed as Taxonomy-eligible under activity 9.1, a separate assessment of DNSH requirements have been carried out as listed in EU Taxonomy regulation. To the best of our knowledge, currently no potential risks have been found. Our assessment is largely based on the fact that similar materials and processes are used in the development of these new innovative products.

C. Minimum Social Safeguards

Bekaert adheres to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the International Bill of Human Rights, and Article 18 of the EU Taxonomy regulation. We further assessed compliance with Minimum Social Safeguards in line with the final report of the Platform on Sustainable Finance on Minimum Social Safeguards, focusing on following four core topics applicable for Bekaert: human rights including workers' rights, due diligence and risk assessment process, grievance mechanisms, bribery/corruption, taxation and fair competition.

Among other initiatives, we have a Human Rights policy (more information is disclosed on page 225), Supplier Code of Conduct and an annual plan for supplier audits, which allow us to further verify the respect of human/labor rights throughout our supply chain. In December 2023, we published our updated Code of Conduct which reflects our vision and strengthens our stance on key topics, including sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, as well as fair competition. We are also intensifying our efforts to promote human rights by introducing a new crossfunctional, global program for due diligence. More information on Social Safeguards and related risks throughout the Bekaert value chain is included in section S2 Workers in the Value Chain on page 240.

Nuclear and fossil gas related activities

To the best of our knowledge, Bekaert does not carry out, fund or have exposure to nuclear energy or fossil gas related activities as referred to in "Annex II Template 1 Nuclear and fossil gas related activities" of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178.

Nuclear energy related activities	Fossil gas related activities
R&D, demonstration and deployment of innovative electricity generation facilities that produce energy from nuclear processes with minimal waste from the fuel cycle	No	Construction or operation of electricity generation facilities that produce electricity using fossil gaseous fuels.	No
Construction and safe operation of new nuclear installations	No	Construction, refurbishment, and operation of combined heat/cool and power generation facilities using fossil gaseous fuels.	No
Safe operation of existing nuclear installations	No	Construction, refurbishment and operation of heat generation facilities that produce heat/cool using fossil gaseous fuels	No

EU Taxonomy Key Performance Indicators

1. Consolidated sales

Financial year 2024						Substantial contribution criteria								DNSH criteria (Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Code	Turnover	Proportion of turnover	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	(A.2) turnover, year 2023 my aligned (A.1) or eligible Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
		thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
A. TAXONOMY-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
A.1 Environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned)
Manufacture of renewable energy technologies	CCM 3.1	22 717	1%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	1 % E
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies	CCM 3.6	1 717 098	43%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	41%	E
Manufacture, installation, and servicing of high, medium and low voltage electrical equipment for electrical transmission and distribution that result in or enable a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation	CCM 3.20	60 357	2 %	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	— % E
Turnover of environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned (A.1)		1 800 172		45% 100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	42%
Of which Enabling		1 800 172		45% 100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	42%	E
Of which Transitional		0%	—%	0%													0%		T
A.2 Taxonomy-Eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities)				EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL
Manufacture of equipment for the production and use of hydrogen	CCM 3.2	37 231	1%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								1%
Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings	CCM 3.5	55 742	1%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								1%
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies	CCM 3.6	70 895	2%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								4%
Turnover of Taxonomy-eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities) (A.2)		163 868	4%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								6%

													DNSH criteria
Financial year 2024						Substantial contribution criteria							(Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Turnover Code	Proportion of turnover	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	(A.2) turnover, year 2023 my aligned (A.1) or eligible Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
	thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
A. Turnover of Taxonomy eligible activities (A.1 + A.2)	1 964 040	50%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								48%
B. TAXONOMY-NON-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
Turnover of Taxonomy-non-eligible activities (B)	1 993 775	50%
TOTAL	3 957 814	100%

Y - Yes: Taxonomy-eligible and Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N - No: Taxonomy-eligible but not Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N/EL: not eligible, Taxonomy non-eligible activity for the relevant environmental objective, EL: Taxonomy eligible activity for the relevant objective.

Numerator

The numerator is comprised of the Bekaert 2024 consolidated sales that are related to the economic activities listed in the table above (the numbers refer to the section in Annex I of the Climate Delegated Act that corresponds to such activity). We consider only the revenues generated from specific products and customers related to the EU Taxonomy activity. Intercompany transactions were excluded by eliminating any sales between business units, ensuring that only external sales were considered in the final consolidated figures.

All of the activities above are considered as enabling activities, as referred to in Article 10(1) point (i) of Regulation (EU) 2020/852.

Each business unit performed the eligibility analysis separately, for the products manufactured within the business unit. To avoid double counting, this information was then aggregated and validated by Group Finance, following the same principles as for the consolidated financial reporting.

Examples of eligible and aligned products and solutions can be found in section E1-3 on page 203.

Denominator

The denominator is comprised of consolidated sales as disclosed in the Financial Statements of this report.

2. Capital Expenditure (Capex)

Financial year 2024		DNSH criteria Substantial contribution criteria (Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Code	CapEx	Proportion of CapEx	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	my (A.2) CapEx, year 2023 aligned (A.1) or eligible Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
		thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL		Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
A. TAXONOMY-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
A.1 Environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned)
Manufacture of renewable energy technologies	CCM 3.1	6 189	3%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	4%	E
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies	CCM 3.6	69 210	33%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	31%	E
Manufacture, installation, and servicing of high, medium and low voltage electrical equipment for electrical transmission and distribution that result in or enable a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation	CCM 3.20	1 911	1%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	—%	E
Installation, maintenance and repair of charging stations for electric vehicles in buildings (and parking spaces attached to buildings)	CCM 7.4	104	0%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	—%	E
Installation - maintenance and repair of renewable energy technologies	CCM 7.6	5	0%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	—%	E
Close to market research, development and innovation	CCM 9.1	8 980	4%	Y	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	3%	E
CapEx of environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned (A.1)		86 399	41%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	39%
Of which Enabling		86 399	41%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	39%	E
Of which Transitional		—	—%	0 %													0%		T
A.2 Taxonomy-Eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities)				EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL	EL; N/ EL
Manufacture of equipment for the production and use of hydrogen	CCM 3.2	22 781	11%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								7%
Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings	CCM 3.5	832	0.4%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								1%
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies	CCM 3.6	2 154	1%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								2%
Electricity generation using solar photovoltaic technology	CCM 4.1	404	0.2%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								0.3%

Financial year 2024	DNSH criteria Substantial contribution criteria (Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Code	CapEx	Proportion of CapEx	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	my (A.2) CapEx, year 2023 aligned (A.1) or eligible Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
		thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL		Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
Construction - extension and operation of water collection - treatment and supply systems	CCM 5.1	83	0%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								—%
Renewal of water collection, treatment and supply systems	CCM 5.2	531	0.3%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								0%
Construction, extension and operation of waste water collection and treatment	CCM 5.3	293	0.1%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								0.5%
Material recovery from non-hazardous waste	CCM 5.9	60	0%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								—%
Renovation of existing buildings	CCM 7.2	14 659	7%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								3%
Installation, maintenance and repair of energy efficiency equipment	CCM 7.3	4 904	2%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								4%
Installation, maintenance and repair of instruments and devices for measuring, regulation and controlling energy performance of buildings	CCM 7.5	91	0%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								1%
Data processing - hosting and related activities	CCM 8.1	1 679	1%	EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL	N/EL								—
CapEx of Taxonomy-eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities) (A.2)		48 471	23%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								19%
CapEx of Taxonomy eligible activities (A.1 + A.2)		134 870	64%	100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								58%
B. TAXONOMY-NON-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
CapEx of Taxonomy-non-eligible activities (B)		76 962
Total		211 832

Y - Yes: Taxonomy-eligible and Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N - No: Taxonomy-eligible but not Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N/EL: not eligible, Taxonomy non-eligible activity for the relevant environmental objective, EL: Taxonomy eligible activity for the relevant objective. Decimal used only for below 1%.

Numerator

The numerator is comprised of (i) capex related to Taxonomy-eligible and aligned solutions of Bekaert and (ii) capex related to other Taxonomy-eligible economic activities that are not directly linked to Taxonomy-eligible solutions of Bekaert (in both cases, we refer to capex invested during the fiscal year 2024), as described in Section 1.1.2.2 of Annex I of the Disclosure Delegated Act. The total EU Taxonomy-eligible and aligned capex is calculated from the following economic activities listed in the table above. From the activities above, activities 3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.6, 3.20, 7.3. 7.5 and 9.1 are considered as (aligned to-be) enabling activities, as referred to in Article 10(1) point (i) of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, while activities 7.2 and 8.1 are considered as (aligned to-be) transitional activities as referred to in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EU) 2020/852. In certain scenarios where asset investments are used to manufacture both eligible and non-eligible products, we have applied an allocation rule based on the eligible revenue

percentage of products manufactured in the specific production plant that capex project was implemented, in order to calculate the eligible capex. A similar approach was followed for aligned and non-aligned products.

Each business unit separately identified their capital expenditures related to eligible/aligned products manufactured by Bekaert (literal (a) and (b) of Section 1.1.2.2 of Annex I of the Disclosure Delegated Act, including capex arising from a plan to increase the share of the eligible / aligned business within 5 years). In a second stage, each business unit further screened the capex that was left out from the previous step to identify the capex related to the purchase of output from Taxonomy-eligible economic activities (literal (c) from the referred Section 1.1.2.2). Separately, the Group Finance department identified the capex related to other Taxonomy-eligible economic activities, which was not registered in the accounts of the business units. To avoid double counting, this information was then aggregated and validated by Group Finance, following the same principles as for the consolidated financial reporting.

Our higher eligibility score for CAPEX spending, compared to our revenue KPI, demonstrates that we are making strategic investments to continually expand the share of our eligible and aligned economic activities.

Denominator

The denominator is comprised of Bekaert's total capex invested in the financial year 2024 as disclosed in the Financial Statements of this report, covering additions to tangible and intangible assets considered before depreciation, amortization and any re-measurements that may apply.

3. Operational excellence expenses (Opex)

Financial year 2024							Substantial contribution criteria			DNSH criteria (Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Code	OpEx	Proportion of OpEx	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	my aligned (A.1) or eligible (A.2) OpEx, year 2023 Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
		thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL		Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
A. TAXONOMY-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
A.1 Environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned)
Manufacture of renewable energy technologies	CCM 3.1	1 036	1%	Y			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	1%	E
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies Manufacture, installation, and servicing of high, medium and	CCM 3.6	61 615	35%	Y			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	32%	E
low voltage electrical equipment for electrical transmission and distribution that result in or enable a substantial contribution to climate change mitigation	CCM 3.20	114	0.1%	Y			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	—%	E
Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars and commercial vehicles	CCM 6.5	2 795	2%	Y			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	1%		T
Close to market research, development and innovation	CCM 9.1	1 143	1%	Y			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL				Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	1%	E
OpEx of environmentally sustainable activities (Taxonomy-aligned (A.1)		66 704		38% 100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								35%
Of which Enabling		63 909		37% 97%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								34%	E
Of which Transitional		2 795	2%	3%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								1%		T
A.2 Taxonomy-Eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities)				EL; N/EL	EL; N/EL	EL; N/EL	EL; N/EL	EL; N/EL	EL; N/EL
Manufacture of equipment for the production and use of hydrogen	CCM 3.2	5 970		3% EL			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL										2%
Manufacture of energy efficiency equipment for buildings	CCM 3.5	2 412		1% EL			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL										2%
Manufacture of other low carbon technologies	CCM 3.6	4 101		2% EL			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL										2%
Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars and commercial vehicles	CCM 6.5	10 834		6% EL			N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL N/EL										5%

Financial year 2024						DNSH criteria Substantial contribution criteria (Does Not Significantly Harm)
Economic activities	Code	OpEx	Proportion of OpEx	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaption Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	mate change mitigation Cli	mate change adaptation Cli	Water	Pollution	my Circular econo	Biodiversity	m safeguards mu Mini	my aligned (A.1) or eligible (A.2) OpEx, year 2023 Proportion of Taxono	enabling activity Category	transitional activity Category
		thousands of €	%	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL	Y; N; N/EL		Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	Y/N	%	E	T
OpEx of Taxonomy-eligible but not environmentally sustainable activities (not Taxonomy-aligned activities) (A.2)		23 318		13% 100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								11%
OpEx of Taxonomy eligible activities (A.1 + A.2)		90 021		52% 100%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%								46%
B. TAXONOMY-NON-ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
OpEx of Taxonomy-non-eligible activities		84 080
Total		174 101

Y - Yes: Taxonomy-eligible and Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N - No: Taxonomy-eligible but not Taxonomy-aligned activity with the relevant environmental objective, N/EL: not eligible, Taxonomy non-eligible activity for the relevant environmental objective, EL: Taxonomy eligible activity for the relevant objective.

Decimal used only for below 1%.

Numerator

The concept of Opex under the EU Taxonomy is not equal to one line item in the Income Statement. The EU Taxonomy has a specified scope for operational expenses to be reported (described in the Denominator section below), therefore, we refer to this reduced concept as "applicable" Opex to clearly differentiate it from the Income Statement lines reported by Bekaert. The numerator is comprised of (i) "applicable" Opex related to Taxonomy-eligible and aligned activities and (ii) "applicable" Opex related to other Taxonomy-eligible and aligned economic activities, as described in Section 1.1.3.2 of Annex I of the Disclosure Delegated Act. The total EU Taxonomy-eligible and aligned "applicable" Opex is calculated from the economic activities referenced in above table. All of the activities above are considered as (aligned to-be) enabling activities, as referred to in Article 10(1) point (i) of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, except for activity 6.5 'Transport by motorbikes, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles'.

In certain scenarios where it is impossible to allocate Opex to individual product lines, we have applied an allocation rule based on the eligible revenue percentage of products manufactured within the business unit or segment, in order to calculate the eligible Research & Development expenses, building renovation measures, and maintenance and repair expenses. Each business unit extracted separately the Opex meeting the definition of the EU Taxonomy related to the eligible and aligned products. Separately, our central purchasing department identified the "applicable" Opex related to the purchase of other Taxonomyeligible economic activities, which was not registered in the accounts of the business units. Likewise, our central Technology and Innovation department identified the R&D expenses related to the eligible and aligned products, which was not registered in the accounts of the business units. To avoid double counting, this information was then aggregated and validated by Group Finance, following the same principles as for the consolidated financial reporting.

Denominator

Opex is defined in the Disclosure Delegated Act as direct non-capitalized costs that relate to research and development, building renovation measures, shortterm leases, maintenance and repair, and any other direct expenditures relating to day-to-day servicing of assets of property, plant and equipment. The denominator comprises of expenses that fit within this definition of Opex.

Each business unit obtained the maintenance and repair costs (which include non-capitalized expenses for building renovation measures) from internal reporting systems.

E1 Climate change

Integration of sustainability related performance in incentive schemes (E1 - GOV-3)

Bekaert integrates sustainability-related performance in its long-term incentives. Aligned with the grant for the performance period 2023-2025, for the performance period 2024-2026, an ESG basket (scope 1 & 2 CO2e emissions reduction, sustainable solutions as a % of sales and a safety target) applies for 10% of the weight. ESRS 2 E1 - GOV3 §13

Our transition plan to mitigate climate change (E1-1)

We create value through sustainability

At Bekaert, we believe it is our responsibility to create a better tomorrow.

Our science-based GHG reduction targets were independently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). By signing up and committing to science-based targets, we became part of the UN Climate Champions' Race to Zero and through this we aim to make a significant impact in the fight against climate change.

We have set a target to reduce our Scope 1 & 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions – the majority of which comes from the electricity we purchase and from the gas used within our plants – by 46.2% by 2030 (compared to 2019) and we have the ambition to reach Carbon Net Zero by 2050.

Next to acting on our own operations, we have also set a target to reduce our Scope 3 emissions associated with purchased goods and services by 19.7% by 2035 (compared to 2019).

Our ambition and targets will need to be backed up by policy making, sufficiently available steel from low carbon-emitting processes and all actors in the value chain and nations to act accordingly.

We have developed a roadmap to achieve our decarbonization targets and can demonstrate progress. We have a 2030 transition plan outlining the steps and actions required by the business and the various functions to achieve our environmental targets. The 2030 transition plan has been approved by both the Bekaert Group Executive and the Board of Directors.

The 2030 transition plan is embedded in the 2030 business plans of each business unit in Bekaert including the financial means needed to meet the targets.

More information about the progress we made in 2024 towards our targets (including the levers) is disclosed in section E1-4 on page 205.

Secondly, we are determined to improve life and create value for all our stakeholders by making a positive impact with our sustainable solutions. We aim for 65% of our sales to come from sustainable solutions by 2030, a testament to our dedication to shaping the way we live and move. In defining environmentally friendly solutions, we adhere to EU Taxonomy definitions and leverage third-party verified life cycle analysis (LCA) for fact-based comparisons. Our 2024 EU Taxonomy aligned revenue has increased to 45%. For more information on the key performance indicators of taxonomy aligned Revenue, CapEx and OpEx, we refer to the detailed EU Taxonomy section on page 185.

By committing to these targets, we are thinking beyond tomorrow, enabling improvements through innovation, and basing our initiatives on the latest science that will help create a sustainable future in the longer term. ESRS E1-1 §14 §16a, b, c, e, g, h, i, j

We have analyzed the existing key assets in our plants globally and came to the conclusion that the assets with a potential carbon lock-in are mainly limited to gas fired furnaces or baths. Through electrification of these furnaces and baths, we can reduce or eliminate the use of gas.

We may experience carbon lock-in if fossil-fuel assets are not replaced by green technologies, a transition that hinges on future cost-effective technological advancements and supportive policy measures. ESRS E1-1 §16d

Decarbonization levers and key actions

As part of the transition plan, we have identified multiple decarbonization levers for the shorter term: we are increasing the use of renewable electricity through on-site generation and offsite (virtual) PPAs, as well as reducing the energy needed in our production processes. Looking ahead we have identified clear opportunities for the coming years, which are currently further under investigation, with a primary focus on initiatives that drive additionality.

When it comes to renewable power generation, we are focusing on solar and wind energy. More information on our actions can be found in section E1-3 on page 202.

We will further investigate and evaluate electrification, the use of biofuels and/or green hydrogen as technology advances.

In sum, our decarbonization roadmap currently comprises of more than 1000 individual projects covering the above decarbonization levers as well as the exploration of longer term solutions. ESRS E1-1 §16b, j

Sustainable solutions

'The best way to predict the future is to create it', a famous quote by management consultant and author Peter Drucker, inspires us to take the lead in developing sustainable products and processes. At Bekaert, we are committed toaccelerating the progress in new mobility, sustainable construction, and the energy transition. Our products and solutions are designed with sustainability at their core, ensuring that sustainable practices are embedded throughout their life cycle and our value chain.

Our sustainable solutions contribute to mitigating climate change by enabling clean-end markets and/or reducing life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to mainstream alternatives. We achieve the latter by substituting certain traditional steel products with low-carbon or light-weight alternatives, and/or by offering higher-performing products that lower the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Bekaert is committed to leading the change in creating a greener world by providing sustainable solutions to support the transition across multiple sectors. From green hydrogen production through our Currento® metal fiber media, to offshore wind and solar power with our mooring solutions, and sustainable concrete reinforcement with our Dramix® fibers, Bekaert's innovations are promoting the shift towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

Bekaert selected for EU Innovation Fund grant to strengthen the green hydrogen value chain in Europe

Bekaert has been selected for funding of up to €23.6 million from the EU Innovation Fund 2023 for its project "GRAND PIANO", securing clean tech manufacturing in Europe. The grant selection will facilitate essential product and process innovation for electrolysis stacks, the heart of green hydrogen production systems.

For more details, please see the press release.

About the EU Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programs for the deployment of innovative netzero and low-carbon technologies and aims to help businesses invest in clean energy and bring technologies to market that can decarbonize European industry.

"This grant accelerates our contribution towards competitive green hydrogen production at scale."

Edouard d'Autume - VP Hydrogen

More info on the contribution of our sustainable solutions in circular economy and how we leverage life cycle assessments (LCAs) to drive our efforts, is disclosed in section E5-2 on page 219. ESRS E1-1§16a,b

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (E1 – SBM-3)

Our material impacts and risks

The climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities have been identified and assessed as part of the double materiality process (see section IRO-1 on page 182), which included the conclusions from the 2024 ERM exercise (see Enterprise Risk Management in the Corporate Governance Statement on page 66), as well as the insights from the physical climate risk assessment study (see page 199)

The following climate change-related material topics have been identified for Bekaert:

Negative impact	Our production processes are energy intensive and we emit CO2e, primarily indirectly through our use of purchased electricity but also directly where we use gas. Our wire rod suppliers (Bekaert's main raw material) have a high carbon footprint. We continuously work to make our own operations more energy efficient whilst working in parallel on a long-term strategy of electrification. We source renewables and install on-site power generation (solar and wind) where available and technically/economically feasible. We address our suppliers' emissions by shifting from purchasing steel from a high carbon-emitting process to more steel from low carbon-emitting process options wherever economically feasible and meeting customer demands. By balancing cost and energy required for our own operations and input materials for the supply chain, we secure our financial resilience while being a responsible company.
Positive impact	Through the variety of products and solutions we offer to our customers, we contribute to global decarbonization and the reduction in global warming. We aim to have 65% of our revenue generated from sustainable solutions by 2030, but we cannot do this alone. In order to meet this aim, a clear market pull is required, including a willingness to pay. Favorable political and economic boundary conditions in the countries where we operate are also a prerequisite.
Risk	Steel is a hard to abate sector and will require significant efforts and investments. We depend very much on how the steel sector evolves and whether or not steel from low carbon-emitting processes is available in the quantities, qualities and the competitive prices that the value chain requires. In addition, all this needs to be backed up by adequate policy making and international, fair trade schemes in order to provide a level playing field.
Opportunity	We see an opportunity to further transform and evolve our portfolio mix and product offering with clean solutions that will enable decarbonization and reduce global warming. However, for this opportunity to materialize, we need a clear market pull and a willingness to pay, as well as favorable political and economic boundary conditions in the countries where we operate.

More information on our GHG emissions can be found in section E1-6 on page 208. ESRS E1-IRO 1 §20a

Climate-related opportunities and risks have been mapped in accordance with the classification framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), covering both transition and physical risks and opportunities.

Climate change opportunities

Climate change transition risks		Climate change physical risks
Regulations	Technology	Market	Reputation	Acute	Chronic
Evolving climate regulations and carbon pricing mechanisms may have a strategic impact and/or may increase costs and prices.	Costs due to technology changes needed to transition to a low-carbon economy. Gradual substituting product offering and production processes with lower embodied carbon emissions solutions and/or more circular options.	Changing customer behavior towards more sustainable choices, sourcing shifts and energy market transition uncertainties and/or delays may create a risk for some existing products and/or impact costs.	Greater demands from key stakeholders (customers, investors, ) driving the sustainability agenda and our performance.	A more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events (mainly flood, heavy rainfall and windstorm) may impact our operations and supply chain.	Increasing exposure to heat-stress, drought and unfavorable weather conditions may impact working conditions.

Our strategic planning and risk management processes continuously evaluate risk and opportunities according to relevant criteria. This allows us to adapt our strategy, where necessary, in case previously unforeseen external events would occur.

The scenarios on which our climate-related scenario analysis is based, are described in the following sections "Resilience in relation to climate change" and "Physical Climate Risk Assessment". ESRS E1 - SBM3 §16h §18, AR8b

Resilience in relation to climate change

We have established targets and comprehensive plans focused on making our own operations more sustainable and continuously evolving our portfolio to the market needs by offering sustainable solutions. The fact that we have set targets for our own operations in line with a 1.5 degrees scenario while the stated government policies as of today imply a well-above 2 degrees increase¹ , demonstrates that resilience is at the heart of our strategy.

To ensure the resilience and adaptability of our strategic plans and business models in the face of climate change, we integrate the following steps into our strategic planning and review process looking at medium-term impact (up to 2030):

• We have mapped business unit-specific material risks and opportunities: by utilizing the Enterprise Risk Management framework (ERM), double materiality assessments, and physical climate risk studies we have identified and prioritized key risks and opportunities.
• We continuously monitor the development of the external forces relevant to our business and market dynamics: we monitor and evaluate trends, regulatory changes, and requirements that could impact our strategy, including insights from regulators, customers, suppliers, competitors, employees, and investors. • We assess the impact of strategic plans on sustainability targets: we calculate and forecast the effects of our strategic initiatives on our sustainability goals.

To address the identified climate-related risks and opportunities, we have defined specific, actionable steps for each business unit, ensuring a proactive and resilient approach to sustainability. ESRS E1 - SBM3 §19, AR7b, IRO1 §20c, §21

Physical Climate Risk Assessment

Scope

As part of Bekaert's climate risk management strategy, an in-depth climate risk study was undertaken, starting in 2022 together with WTW (former Willis Towers Watson) to assess the possible impact of physical climate change on Bekaert's global assets and operations. In 2023 and 2024, Bekaert further fine-tuned this study focusing on further enhancing awareness among the different teams, identifying adaptation solutions, working out an approach for mitigation plans and mapping the main exposures of key suppliers.

The assessment focused on identifying potential future vulnerabilities, consequences and risk adaptation measures to Bekaert's operations associated with physical climate change exposures.

Three climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathways 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5) were considered based on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), which are mapped to the latest IPCC Sixth Assessment Report's (AR6) Shared Social Economic Pathways (SSPs).

The scenarios consider global warming increases of 1.5°C, 2°C-3°C and > 4°C increase in the global average surface temperature by 2100 (see figure published by the IPCC).

For each location, the changes to material acute and chronic physical climate change hazards were assessed for each pathway and key time horizons with focus on the current and near-term "base risk" as well as a medium-term future time horizon towards the mid-century (2040-2050).

Temperature change	IPCC scenario	Present day	2030	2050
1.5°C	RCP 2.6	v	v	v
2-3°C	RCP 4.5	v	v	v
>4°C	RCP 8.5	v	v	v

Global surface temperature change relative to 1850–1900 (from the Climate Change 2021 report by IPCC).

¹ reference United Nations Emissions Gap Report 2024

The following climate hazard exposures and potential risks were assessed as material to Bekaert's physical assets and operations,

Acute hazard	River flood	Coastal flood	Windstorm
	Probability and extent of inundation from potential severe river floods	Probability and extent of inundation from potential severe coastal flooding and sea level rise	Damaging wind gusts from severe windstorms
Chronic hazard	Heat stress	Drought stress	Precipitation	Fire Weather

We presume these equally apply to companies in similar industries located in the same geographical areas where our operations are located.

Methodology

WTW collaborated closely with Bekaert and key stakeholders to validate the underlying assumptions of the assessment. This ranged from a more high-level diagnostic of future climate hazard exposures (e.g. whether assets are located in zones exposed to climate hazards) to a review of potential vulnerabilities. Subsequently, we quantified the potential financial value at risk associated with these potential vulnerabilities using insurance market recognized climate risk models for severe, low-likelihood events such as flood and windstorm.

The methodology used for the wider climate exposure and vulnerability assessment included an asset-by-asset analysis for a range of climate hazard exposures at the present day as well as for future projections under the selected scenarios where data was available. This was further supplemented by a value-at-risk analysis that was based on the potential vulnerabilities identified, including direct physical damage and business interruption from extreme events like flood and windstorm and chronic hazards such as heat stress and drought.

Data used for this analysis included state-of-the-art climate models and databases that are used within the insurance industry for the pricing of risk as well as published research and information from the IPCC. The climate risks were derived from a number of data sources including WTW's own tools Global Peril Diagnostic and Climate Diagnostic, data from Munich Re hazard databases and research findings from the IPCC.

Bekaert rolled out an exposure analysis and self-assessment tool to all production plants to raise awareness on climate change and collect insights on readiness and feasibility of mitigation plans. The outcome of this assessment helps us in further developing our adaptation approach and plan. Climate hazard exposures are also taken into account during project evaluations. ESRS E1-IRO 1 §20bi,ii

Key findings

A summary of the potential climate hazard exposures to Bekaert's physical assets and operations together with responses on current and future adaptation and mitigation is presented below. Overall, impact on our footprint is most impactful for flooding, rainfall and heat stress, moderate for drought and fire weather, and low for windstorm (however more frequent) on a mid to longer term horizon. The outcome of our assessment is used to define and prioritize mitigation and adaptation solutions to reduce the exposure to physical climate risks.

Bekaert's adaptation approach will be further developed considering specific targeted measures and local insights (following the self-assessment performed), as well as overarching measures working across wider range of plausible identified risks, following the core "do no significant harm" principles in line with the EU Taxonomy guidelines.

Additional to the summarized responses below, potential vulnerabilities identified are being reviewed in more detail to validate and/or further adapt key exposed operations and strengthen their resilience. Design standards and operational thresholds are being adjusted to address climate change.

As outlined in the table, Bekaert is already taking action to mitigate current and future physical climate risks, but at this stage we are unable to quantify the overall response/mitigation cost.

It is plausible that severe, low-likelihood events could also impact the wider regional infrastructures not owned by Bekaert and Bekaert will continue working closely with local authorities and where necessary will further align its emergency response and operational continuity planning procedures with those of the local authorities and their emergency response planning, before, during and after an event has occurred.

	Current climate risk	Climate risks for 2050 under the high emission scenario (RCP8.5)	Response / Adaptation
Drought
	Currently some of Bekaert's operations are in high drought stress environments with over 4 months of drought on average every year. Such conditions are correlated with water scarcity problems for the regions and in some areas with disruption of the supply of electricity from hydropower sources. In 2024 this has not resulted in material or unexpected impacts to the business.	The existing drought stress would be further exacerbated in this scenario with longer droughts and new regions and facilities becoming exposed to the conditions. This can lead to water shortages and potentially disrupt operations at facilities with water dependent processes. Hydropower reliability could be further impacted.	Bekaert already takes actions today to minimize fresh water use in production that would help reduce the future potential risks. Further plans are developed with regards to building internal reserves and optimization to further increase water and power supply resilience.
Heat-Stress
	Part of the global operations is already in moderate and high heat stressed areas. This creates a risk of some minor loss of productivity during heatwave periods and increased air conditioning / energy consumption at sites with strict air quality requirements. No material incidents affected our production sites in 2024.	The number of heat wave days and the geographical spread of heat zones increases impacting additional operations and would likely increase the risk for existing ones.	Bekaert is already implementing heat stress adaptation measures in its operations with regards to ventilation and cooling solutions targeting areas of product quality, and health and safety. Consideration is given to potential negative impact, such as impact on energy consumption. Additional measures will be explored to bring further efficiencies in HVAC systems, new technologies and automation.
Precipitation
	Part of the global operations are in areas of heavy rainfall already. This creates a risk of localized flooding and ponding around manufacturing facilities and potential for leaking roofs. The impacts could include damage to surrounding infrastructure such as access roads, equipment and materials as well as disruption to operation essential utilities. No material incidents affected our production sites in 2024.	The number of days with heavy rainfall increases, which creates conditions for more frequent impacts.	Bekaert already has a level of protection embedded in the design of its facilities and maintenance regimes of roofs and drainage systems. Further steps will be considered to increase the resilience to this peril by additional evaluations of site vulnerabilities to strengthen or enhance the level of protection where relevant.
Fire weather
	Moderate fire weather conditions are relevant to a small portion of all assets. This could create some risk of property damage and disruption to utility supply from localized fires. No material incidents affected our production sites in 2024.	Unfavorable conditions increase and the number of sites moving into moderate conditions and a longer fire season doubles.	Bekaert already takes actions to maintain a good level of fire protection for its operations. It is reasonable to assume that existing fire control and prevention measures would reduce the likelihood of severe impacts in the future.
Flooding
	Some Bekaert operations are located in zones where severe flooding could occur, though the likelihood is low. The impacts to those assets could include damage to infrastructure, equipment, and materials as well as disruption to utilities essential for operations. In 2024 our production plant in Bohumin (CZ) experienced damage by regional flooding due to cyclone Boris.	No substantial changes in exposure to coastal or river flooding, but exposure is already very high at some locations.	A level of prevention and protection is already in place for exposed areas. Where needed, Bekaert will be taking additional steps to increase the resilience and mitigation of the risk.

	Current climate risk	Climate risks for 2050 under the high emission scenario (RCP8.5)	Response / Adaptation
Windstorm
	Some of Bekaert's operations see moderate levels of windstorm activity, while the majority of their assets are not materially exposed. There is a risk of wind damage to exposed sites and disruption of utilities essential for operations. No material incidents affected our production sites in 2024.	No substantial changes in windstorm exposure.	Existing facilities already include severe wind consideration in engineering design. It is reasonable to assume that good maintenance and inspection regime of sites today, as well as following best practice wind design specifications, Emergency Response and Business Continuity Plans would prevent and minimize significant impacts to operations.

ESRS E1 - SBM3 §18, E1-IRO1 §20b, AR11, §21

Very high	High	Moderate	LOW	Very low
-----------	------	----------	-----	----------

Our processes to identify and assess material climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities (E1 - IRO-1)

The information on the processes to identify and assess material climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities is disclosed in section E1 SBM-3 on page 197.

Policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation (E1-2)

Our goal is to protect the planet with two focus areas in mind: making Bekaert a more sustainable company and contributing to a more sustainable world with our sustainable solutions. Our ambition is to reduce our carbon footprint by increasing our use of renewable energy and improving our energy efficiency.

Our energy and climate change policy is designed to align our organization with our decarbonization roadmap. The policy applies to all consolidated Bekaert operations and businesses. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) oversees formulating the policy. Divisional CEOs with the support of the relevant corporate functions are responsible for ensuring this policy is implemented in their respective business and operations. The policy is available in English on our website. ESRS E1-2 §24, 25

Our actions and resources related to climate change (E1-3)

Our decarbonization roadmap

We have developed a decarbonization roadmap, covering the period from our baseline year 2019 to 2030, in line with the end year of our Scope 1 & 2 CO2e SBTi approved target. Our strategy employs several key levers: improving energy efficiency in our facilities through You Know Watt projects, installing on-site renewable energy generation and sourcing green electricity via offsite (v)PPAs.

In the period 2019-2024, our actions led to a reduction of CO2e emissions by about 333 000 tons.

Looking ahead we anticipate further grid decarbonization by 2030 as more renewable capacity becomes available in the countries where we operate.

By 2030, we aim to reduce an additional 380 000 tons of CO2e emissions by various levers.

To reach our 2030 target, we estimate spending over €30 million in capital expenses and over €10 million in operating expenses (cumulative).

ESRS E1-3 §29a, b, c, AR21

Sustainable solutions

In 2024, we made further steps in our sustainable solutions portfolio across all the markets that we are active in. For instance, we enhanced our offering in synthetic offshore lifting and mooring solutions through the acquisition of BEXCO, a leading global player with over 50 years of success in synthetic ropes for both conventional and renewable offshore energy production. Additionally, we signed a partnership agreement with Toshiba on Membrane Electrode Assemblies (MEA) technology for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers to accelerate the advancement of green hydrogen production at scale. This partnership will help the electrolyzer industry to scale and deliver the energy transition needed for the net-zero future.

In tire reinforcement, we maintained our industry-leading position by scaling our portfolio of super-tensile (ST) and ultra-tensile (UT) tire cords, and are making tangible progress to adopt high recycled content in our ST/UT portfolio.

Another major breakthrough has been in the readiness for Mega Tensile (MT) technology, which allows tire makers to further lower weight and reduce rolling resistance, thanks to next-generation reinforcement strength. By reducing steel weight by up to 20% and compound weight by up to 10%, MT contributes to improved fuel efficiency or electric vehicle range – without compromising on quality.

Two of our sustainable solutions for climate change action received the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label, which is awarded to products, services, and processes that combine credible environmental and economic performance while outperforming mainstream market options. In early 2023, Bekaert became a partner of the Solar Impulse Foundation, a key non-profit organization established by Bertrand Piccard, dedicated to promoting sustainable and profitable solutions. Dramix® steel fiber for low-carbon concrete reinforcement was the first Bekaert solution to receive the Solar Impulse Foundation Label in 2023, followed by Currento® porous transport layer for hydrogen production in 2024. Throughout the year, we collaborated with the Solar Impulse Foundation and its partners to advocate for the adoption of sustainable solutions to accelerate the path to netzero.

By reducing material usage while maintaining performance (dematerialization) or incorporating recycled, reusable or renewable materials, our sustainable solutions contribute to lowering our Scope 3 upstream emissions.

We refer to the EU Taxonomy section on page 185 for more information on our eligible and aligned Revenue, Capex and Opex, supporting our sustainable operations and solutions roadmap.

Further growth in sustainable solutions will depend on demand growth in lifting and mooring, and construction decarbonization, which we currently see being rephased. We also see a delay in the transition to clean energy.

ESRS E1-3 §29 b,c

Generating renewable power and investing in renewable energy sources

One of our key levers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the use of renewable electricity, where available. In total, 40% of the electricity we consumed in 2024 came from renewable energy sources. In Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Romania, and the US, most of Bekaert's electricity already comes from renewable energy sources.

When it comes to renewable power generation, we are focusing on solar and wind energy. We continuously scout investment opportunities in solar and wind. In 2022 we ran a global exercise to investigate the potential of onsite solar generation at all our plants globally based on technical feasibility and economic criteria. Based on this analysis we have in recent years invested in several solar farms at our manufacturing site in Burgos (Spain), and in Aalter (Belgium). In 2024, we installed our largest capacity of solar of 29 Megawatt peak (MWp) at our Jiangyin (China) campus. We have the intention to add additional solar capacity in the coming years in line with our roadmap. Our analysis is updated on an annual basis.

Given the nature of our business, onsite power generation does not suffice to meet our demand. While we continuously seek to make our operations more energy efficient, we also see it as our role to contribute to the overall cleaning of the grid by investing in new assets that generate additional renewable capacity. An overview of the deals we signed can be found below. We have plans for additional PPAs in 2025 and beyond according to our roadmap.

Lever	Description	Energy Production (GWh/year)	Ton CO2e Abatement per year
	Wind turbines in Zwevegem (Belgium) installed in 2012	13	1 800
	Roof-mounted solar panels in Aalter (Belgium) installed in 2020	1	140
On-site renewable energy	Solar field (ground-mounted) in Burgos (Spain) installed in 2023	16	1 500
through third party	Roof-mounted solar panels in Jiangyin (China) installed in 2024	29	17 000
	Future solar field (ground-mounted) in Italy projected to be installed in 2025	11	2 800
	Future solar field in China projected to be installed in 2025)	22	12 900
	Kings Plain, US (wind farm) installed in 2020	125	41 500
Off-site (virtual) Power	P1&2, India (solar farm) installed in 2021	54	40 400
Purchase Agreements	P3, India (solar farm) installed in 2023	14	10 500
((v)PPAs)	Rockhound, US (solar farm) expected to be installed in 2026	75	24 900
	Vifor, Romania (wind farm) expected to be installed in 2026	100	20 800

Developing and installing eco-friendlier production processes in our plants worldwide

We develop and implement standard solutions and initiatives that aim to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The Bekaert Manufacturing System (BMS), a longstanding improvement program focused on manufacturing excellence, provides a list of guidelines and best practices centered around energy and emission reduction measures.

As outlined earlier, we are investigating different options to fully decarbonize our use of thermal energy (primarily gas) by 2050. One initiative is about exploring the possibility of electrifying our heat treatment processes via a pilot project we are running.

Focus on energy consumption and on prevention & risk management

Given our ambition to reduce our carbon footprint and the importance that energy consumption will play going forward, the energy intensity approach within the Bekaert Manufacturing System (BMS) program has been elevated through a program called 'You Know Watt'.

You Know Watt

Recognizing the significant carbon and wider environmental footprint associated with producing our products and solutions, our global program, "You Know Watt" aims to further reduce our energy use, water consumption, and waste generation in a structured way.

We believe in the power of learning by doing. Therefore, based on several pilot projects, we have designed and implemented a dedicated and comprehensive transformation program covering energy, water and waste, which moves from plant to plant, following a structured process at each site over a two-to-three-month period. We bring You Know Watt to local teams, evaluating findings, implementing efficiency improvements, and sharing improvement ideas and best practice across the company.

"You Know Watt" focuses on:

• Measuring energy/water consumption and waste generation
• Building awareness of the importance of energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction
• Identifying potential improvement opportunities
• Evaluating each opportunity
• Implementing those which are technically and economically feasible, using standard solutions where possible

As shown in the table, we have further rolled out our "You Know Watt" energy efficiency program across Bekaert's major manufacturing plants in 2024. Each year, plants are selected based on plant emissions, size of the plant and feasibility of implementation.

KPI	2021	2022	2023	2024
Number of manufacturing sites covered	1	6	9	5
Number of employees covered by awareness training	530	5 988	4 241	2 590
Number of new energy saving initiatives identified	30	418	527	520
Additional new identified energy savings (GWh)	25	249	190	209
Number of energy saving initiatives implemented	111	128	246	257
CO2e savings (kt CO2e)	20	14	36	49

Furthermore, the key energy efficiency levers identified through You Know Watt are summarized in the table below.

Key energy efficiency levers	Description
Motor replacement	(1) Replacing old and inefficient motors with new high-efficiency motors (2) Rightsizing motors and drives to match the required duty and load
Heat recovery and recuperation	Recovery and reuse of waste heat from different production areas, including furnaces, molten metal baths, and compressor rooms
Process rerouting	Reducing the energy intensity of certain processes by moving from larger, slower-turning machines to latest generation lower energy consuming machines through process routing optimization
Optimized torsion on cabling and bunching machines	Upgrade of torsion disks with the latest Bekaert technology to lower the air friction in cabling and bunching machines

These projects, along with various others, have resulted in significant energy efficiency savings. The heat recovery units installed on 5 of our furnaces in one of our Chinese plants, for instance, have led to a 28.4% reduction in steam intensity in the plant. By fostering good collaboration between our experts from the engineering team, and the energy community in our global BMS team and in the plants, we were able to scale this project globally on multiple production lines across Bekaert, starting with 9 lines in 2024 and more to come from 2025 onwards.

ESRS E1-3 §29 a, b, c, AR21

Our climate change targets (E1-4)

While setting our climate change targets, we follow the definition of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol defined by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

We have set a target to reduce our combined absolute Scope 1 (direct emissions from owned or controlled sources) and scope 2 (indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heating and cooling) by 46.2% by 2030 compared to 2019. This target is in line with the 1.5- degree target defined in the Paris agreement of 2015.

The majority of these emissions come from gas used within our plants and from the electricity we purchase.

We have also set a target to reduce our absolute Scope 3 emissions associated with purchased goods and services by 19.7% by 2035 (compared to 2019).

Our targets have been validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

In addition, we aim to reach Carbon Net Zero by 2050.

Our GHG emissions data and reduction targets refer to CO2 equivalent emissions. The relevant GHGs for Bekaert are CO2, methane and HFCs² , with emissions of all other GHGs being zero.

In line with the science-based targets approach, our targets are absolute and set based on climate science, irrespective of future developments such as changes in sales volumes or regulatory factors.

By committing to these targets, in line with our climate change policy, we are thinking beyond tomorrow, enabling improvements through innovation, and basing our initiatives on the latest science that will help create a sustainable future in the longer term. The levers we are using to reduce our emissions are described in detail in preceding sections and their impact is summarized below.

In 2024, Bekaert's consolidated scope 1 & market-based scope 2 GHG emissions reduced by 5.1 % compared to 2023 and 20.2% compared to 2019, meaning that we are on track to reach our target of -46.2% by 2030 versus the baseline.

In 2024, Bekaert's scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services were -7.2% compared to 2023 and -12.5% compared to 2019.

² Hydrofluorocarbons: synthetic organic compounds that contain fluorine and hydrogen atoms

	Base year (2019)	2030 target	2035 target
GHG emissions Scope 1+2 (ktCO2e)	1 652 835	889 225	n.a.
GHG emissions Scope 3 Purchased goods & services (ktCO2e)	5 119 630	n.a.	4 111 063

ESRS E1-4 §33, 34

Energy consumption and mix (E1-5)

Energy consumption mix (in MWh)	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Fuel consumption from crude oil and petroleum products	143 478	135 171	154 443	65 950	59 977	66 550
Fuel consumption from natural gas	1 324 556	1 225 855	1 271 363	1 293 915	1 215 832	1 188 561
Fuel consumption from other fossil sources	30 774	29 213	30 475	28 879	28 882	26 047
Consumption of purchased or acquired electricity, heat, steam, and cooling from fossil sources	1 780 736	1 639 706	1 806 877	1 549 283	1 445 666	1 357 825
Total energy consumption from fossil sources	3 279 544	3 029 946	3 263 159	2 938 027	2 750 358	2 638 984
Share of fossil sources in total energy consumption (%)	73%	74%	73%	70%	69%	68%
Total energy consumption from nuclear sources	174 105	270 208	304 966	328 346	289 725	262 709
Share of consumption from nuclear sources in total energy consumption (%)	4%	7%	7%	8%	7%	7%
fuel consumption for renewable sources including biomass, biofuels, biogas, hydrogen from renewable sources	0	0	0	0	0	0
consumption of purchased or acquired electricity, heat, steam, and cooling from renewable sources	1 016 134	792 791	852 295	911 450	946 173	952 539
consumption of self-generated non-fuel renewable energy	13 791	16 279	12 825	12 601	19 877	32 774
Total renewable energy consumption	1 029 925	809 070	865 120	924 051	966 050	985 313
Share of renewable sources in total energy consumption (%)	23%	20%	19%	22%	24%	25%
Total energy consumption	4 483 575	4 109 263	4 444 755	4 190 913	4 006 133	3 887 005

We do not consume fuel from coal and coal products, hence this line is not included in the table above.

Total energy production (in MWh)	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Non-renewable energy production	0	0	0	0	0	0
Renewable energy production	13 791	16 279	12 825	12 601	19 877	32 774

ESRS E1-5 §37-38, AR34

As part of our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we have integrated key contractual elements to ensure transparency, accountability, and verifiable GHG emission reductions. In 2024, 12.6% of the purchased electricity came from contractual elements such as onsite PPAs, offsite (v)PPAs and green tariffs.

All of Bekaert's activities are classified as high climate impact sectors as our activities belong to sector "C Manufacturing" of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006. ESRS E1-5 §41, 42, 43, AR45

Renewable Electricity: 40% of our electricity needs came from renewable energy sources in 2024

Our methodology for calculating the percentage of electricity needs from renewable sources involves several steps. Our data model allows us to identify the renewable electricity produced and consumed on-site, our renewable electricity sourced through (v)PPAs and green tariffs. The remaining electrical consumption is sourced externally from the grid. We estimate the amount of renewable electricity in the electricity coming from the grid based on average country-specific numbers published by the open source data from 'Ember³ '. To estimate the energy consumption (and CO2e emissions) from fuel we rely on estimated values. These are based on detailed invoices from a Bekaert representative plant in 2022-2024. The data from this plant is extrapolated to all other plants and to years prior to 2022 weighted on the energy consumption in each plant in the corresponding year.

The energy and CO2e data include all Bekaert production sites, the headquarters in Belgium, the technology center in Belgium, and company cars. It does not include the small offices and warehouses of Bekaert.

³ Ember is a global energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy. It provides open data on electricity generation, power sector emissions and prices.

Energy intensity ratio in MWh per mln €	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total energy consumption from activities in high climate impact sectors per net revenue from activities in high climate impact sectors	1 168	1 226	1 066	838	926	982

Energy intensity ratio in MWh per net revenue
(mln €)	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total energy intensity from fossil sources	854	904	782	587	635	667
Total energy intensity from nuclear sources	45	81	73	66	67	66
Total energy intensity from renewable energy sources	268	241	207	185	223	249
Total energy intensity	1 168	1 226	1 066	838	926	982
% of electricity needs that came from renewable sources		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
		32%	31%	35%	38%	40%

ESRS E1-5 §37, 39, 40

Actual energy consumption in GWh per significant location of operation (> 1000 employees: own workforce)
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Belgium	247	224	239	208	187	179
Electricity	84	69	74	68	61	61
Natural gas & LPG	148	139	149	126	112	105
Purchased heat & steam	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fuel	15	15	15	15	13	12
China	1 851	1 748	1 792	1 650	1 701	1 632
Electricity	1 223	1 170	1 196	1 096	1 148	1 089
Natural gas & LPG	414	375	375	356	358	359
Purchased heat & steam	208	197	215	192	188	178
Fuel	7	6	6	6	7	6
India	137	133	180	182	177	183
Electricity	112	108	148	148	144	148
Natural gas & LPG	24	25	31	33	32	34
Purchased heat & steam	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fuel	0	0	1	1	1	1
Indonesia	305	281	308	270	268	236
Electricity	213	193	215	186	187	176
Natural gas & LPG	91	87	92	83	80	59
Purchased heat & steam	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fuel	1	1	1	1	1	1
Slovakia	445	409	460	451	395	386
Electricity	226	195	224	222	188	181
Natural gas & LPG	216	213	234	227	206	203
Purchased heat & steam	1	0	0	0	0	0
Fuel	2	1	2	2	2	1
US	475	382	390	414	361	344
Electricity	242	181	196	217	189	176
Natural gas & LPG	231	200	192	196	171	167
Purchased heat & steam	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fuel	2	1	1	1	1	1

Gross Scope 1, 2, 3 and total GHG emissions (E1-6)

	Base year
	2019	Comparative	2024	%N/N-1
Scope 1 GHG emissions
Gross Scope 1 GHG emissions (tCO2e)	299 964	257 251	252 727	98%
Percentage of Scope 1 GHG emissions from regulated emission trading schemes (%)	0	0	0	0%
Scope 2 GHG emissions
Gross location-based Scope 2 GHG emissions (tCO2e)	1 407 252	1 227 061	1 123 825	92%
Gross market-based Scope 2 GHG emissions (tCO2e)	1 352 871	1 132 696	1 066 791	94%
Significant Scope 3 GHG emissions
Total Gross indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions (tCO2eq)	6 094 234	5 823 554	5 408 832	93%
1 Purchased goods & services	5 119 630	4 823 756	4 478 390	93%
2 Capital goods	55 749	117 813	110 826	94%
3 Fuel and energy-related Activities (not included in Scope1 or Scope 2)	417 123	344 750	311 874	90%
4 Upstream transportation and distribution	112 119	130 370	136 353	105%
5 Waste generated in operations	29 009	25 511	25 666	101%
6 Business travel	2 740	5 500	6 125	111%
7 Employee commuting	17 354	15 430	15 227	99%
8 Upstream leased assets	0	0	0
9 Downstream transportation	47 230	101 601	110 418	109%
10 Processing of sold products	190 185	165 988	120 448	73%
11 Use of sold products	61 469	61 469	61 469	100%
12 End-of-life treatment of sold products	3 987	3 565	3 417	96%
13 Downstream leased assets	0	0	0
14 Franchises	0	0	0
15 Investments	37 639	27 801	28 619	103%
Total GHG emissions
Total GHG emissions (location-based) (tCO2eq)	7 801 450	7 307 866	6 785 384	93%
Total GHG emissions (market-based) (tCO2eq)	7 747 069	7 213 501	6 728 351	93%
ESRS E1-6 §44

Targets and milestones in ton CO2e	2019 (base year)	2030	2035	% target / Base year
Scope 1 + market-based Scope 2	1 652 835	889 225	n.a.	-46.2 %
Scope 3 Purchased goods & services	5 119 630	n.a.	4 111 063	-19.7 %
ESRS E1-6 §52

Total Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions in ton CO2e	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Scope 1 & location-based scope 2 GHG emissions	1 707 216	1 543 052	1 669 845	1 537 393	1 484 312	1 376 552
Scope 1 & market-based scope 2 GHG emissions	1 652 835	1 508 598	1 635 163	1 472 145	1 389 947	1 319 519

ESRS E1-6 §44

Our Scope 1 & location-based scope 2 emissions reduced by 7.3% in 2024 compared to 2023 and were -19.4% lower than our reference baseline 2019.

Our Scope 1 & market-based scope 2 emissions reduced by 5.1% in 2024 compared to 2023 and were -20.2% lower than our reference baseline 2019, making further progress towards our target.

Total Scope 1 & 2 GHG intensity ratio in ton CO2e/net revenue (mln €)
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total GHG intensity ratio location-based	445	460	400	307	343	348
Total GHG intensity ratio market-based	430	450	392	294	321	333

ESRS E1-6 §53

Scope 1

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are related to our operations.

Scope 1 GHG emissions natural gas, LPG, other GHG emissions and fuel (in ton CO2e)
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
GHG emission natural gas & LPG	274 291	254 390	265 989	250 337	234 809	231 202
GHG emission natural gas	243 520	225 398	232 863	236 191	221 962	216 948
GHG emission LPG	30 772	28 992	33 127	14 146	12 847	14 254
Other GHGs emission	17 897	16 002	17 595	16 311	15 628	15 381
GHG emission fuel	7 775	7 384	7 711	7 312	6 814	6 144

Scope 1 GHG intensity ratio in ton CO2e/net revenue (mln €)
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
GHG intensity ratio natural gas & LPG	71	76	64	50	54	58
Other GHGs intensity ratio	5	5	4	3	4	4
GHG intensity ratio fuel	2	2	2	1	2	2

Global Scope 1 emissions from natural gas, LPG, other GHG emissions and fuel in ton CO2e per significant location of operation (> 1000 employees: own workforce)

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Belgium	48 954	45 482	48 788	42 918	39 181	37 395
China	77 715	70 612	70 292	66 423	67 047	66 898
India	5 373	5 468	6 891	7 256	7 028	7 394
Indonesia	19 747	18 969	20 034	15 431	14 895	10 943
Slovakia	40 159	39 460	43 305	41 899	37 943	37 462
US	42 924	37 054	35 487	36 074	31 653	30 860

Global Scope 1 emissions from natural gas, LPG, other GHG emissions and fuel in ton CO2e per business unit
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Rubber Reinforcement	156 158	141 958	152 750	139 471	134 812	131 399
Steel Wire Solutions	103 401	97 601	99 584	99 871	90 453	88 288
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group	16 609	16 206	15 351	13 878	12 737	14 295
Speciality Businesses	720	985	1 027	831	609	663
Corporate	23 076	21 026	22 584	19 908	18 639	18 082

We are not under any regulated emission trading schemes (ETS). Therefore there are no Scope 1 GHG emissions from regulated ETS.

E1-6 §48 a, b, §53, AR41

Scope 2

Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, and heat that have been calculated based on energy consumption data and country specific conversion factors as provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Scope 2 GHG emissions from purchased electricity and other types of energy in ton CO2e
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Location-based
Electrical energy (including cooling)	1 354 392	1 212 060	1 323 828	1 217 481	1 182 363	1 080 993
Thermal energy purchased heat	5 163	5 416	4 893	4 673	4 292	4 524
Thermal energy purchased steam	47 697	47 801	49 828	41 279	40 406	38 307
Market-based
Electrical energy (including cooling)	1 303 738	1 181 976	1 292 823	1 155 712	1 091 357	1 027 361
Thermal energy purchased heat	1 436	1 046	1 215	1 194	933	1 122
Thermal energy purchased steam	47 697	47 801	49 828	41 279	40 406	38 307

Scope 2 GHG (market-based) intensity ratio in ton CO2e/net revenue (mln €
	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2.024
Electrical energy (including cooling)	340	353	310	231	252	260
Thermal energy purchased heat	0	0	0	0	0	0
Thermal energy purchased steam	12	14	12	8	9	10

Global Scope 2 emissions in ton CO2e (market-based) per significant location of operation (> 1000 employees: own workforce)

2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
288	8 653	8 308	8 140	6 491	6 647
806 247	761 234	775 164	686 671	711 842	672 438
80 236	76 153	106 334	81 394	53 547	55 765
161 691	148 368	166 936	146 463	145 360	137 162
163	25 267	30 490	27 057	19 022	18 356
92 650	59 109	72 214	41 947	26 014	24 035

Global Scope 2 emissions (market-based) in ton CO2e per business unit

	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Rubber Reinforcement	1 228 665	1 095 051	1 190 779	1 046 221	995 231	934 067
Steel Wire Solutions	72 460	81 522	88 751	88 286	78 503	78 091
Bridon-Bekaert Ropes Group	17 503	21 694	22 369	22 357	19 139	17 633
Speciality Businesses	30 938	29 598	38 531	38 232	36 944	35 916
Corporate	3 306	2 958	3 438	3 089	2 879	1 084

ESRS E1-6 §49a, b, §53, AR41

Scope 1 & 2 calculation methodology

Our methodology to calculate CO2e related figures (such as absolute CO2e emissions and CO2e intensity) is developed with reference to the GHG protocol.

To calculate Scope 1 emissions from natural gas, LPG and fuel we use the emission factors published yearly by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and we update our numbers when the updates of emission factors are available on previous years.

To calculate Scope 2 emissions from purchased steam and heat we derive the emission factor from the one applicable to natural gas, while for electricity we apply the emission factors that are published yearly by IEA. These factors are revised yearly and are published with a delay of 2.5 years. As a result our calculations are based on the latest available figures at the time of reporting and we update our numbers when the IEA updates the official emission factor for the corresponding year. This process can lead to changes in reported figures after initial publication.

We have developed two distinct approaches to calculate our Scope 2 CO2e related figures: the market-based method and the location-based method.

• Market-based method: the reported Scope 2 electricity emissions are calculated based on the electricity from the grid (using the IEA emission factor given residual mix is not available in all countries) and green electricity, either self-generated or purchased through (virtual) power purchase agreements, which are considered to have a zero emission factor.
• Location-based method: the reported Scope 2 electricity emissions are calculated based on the electricity from the grid (using the IEA emission factor) and green on-site-generated electricity via third party. This method does not take the renewable contractual agreements into account.

Bekaert is aware of two GHG emissions other than CO2: methane gas transmission leakages and HFC cooling fluid gas leakages. The first covers natural gas leakages during transmission via piping. We estimate this loss based on a Dutch study by Royal HaskoningDHV on greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas chains (reference: BI4005IBRP001F01; published 05/01/2022). The second covers the loss of cooling fluid gasses (used in cooling machines), which are based on an in-house cooling machine study. Both CO2 equivalent gases have been added for all years.

The GHG quantification is subject to inherent uncertainty because of incomplete scientific knowledge to determine exact emission factors.

Some figures for the last months of the year 2024 have been estimated (< 7% of data) as some utility invoices come with delay. The published 2024 Energy and CO2e data is based on all the utility invoices that were available by 22 January 2025.

We used the total sales amount (as disclosed in the financial statements) as denominator in the calculation of the intensity ratios.

ESRS E1-6 AR39, §55, AR55

Scope 3

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect emissions (not included in Scope 1 & 2) that occur in our value chain, including both upstream and downstream emissions.

Scope 3 emissions in ton CO2e	20191	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
1 Purchased goods & services	5 119 630	4 836 483	5 437 819	4 766 371	4 823 756	4 478 390
2 Capital goods	55 749	61 577	88 437	98 471	117 813	110 826
3 Fuel & energy related activities (not included in Scope 1 or 2)	417 123	369 263	405 226	358 921	344 750	311 874
4 Upstream transportation & distribution	112 119	146 238	135 306	143 383	130 370	136 353
5 Waste generated in operations	29 009	34 092	27 015	30 208	25 511	25 666
6 Business travel	2 740	1 700	1 000	2 100	5 500	6 125
7 Employee commuting	17 354	17 783	16 329	16 329	15 430	15 227
8 Upstream leased assets
9 Downstream transportation & distribution2	47 230	52 939	66 941	116 899	101 601	110 418
10 Processing of sold products	190 185	162 562	152 945	156 948	165 988	120 448
11 Use of sold products	61 469	61 469	61 469	61 469	61 469	61 469
12 End of life treatment of sold products	3 987	3 675	3 972	3 704	3 565	3 417
13 Downstream Leased Assets
14 Franchises
15 Investments	37 639	34 662	46 775	31 807	27 801	28 619
Total Scope 3 emissions	6 094 234	5 782 443	6 443 235	5 786 611	5 823 554	5 408 832

¹2019 is the reference year for SBTi-calculation

2 Our scope of calculating emissions from transport has been extended over the past years, which explains the increase. ESRS E1-6 §51

Purchased goods

In 2024, Bekaert's scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services were -7.2% compared to 2023 and -12.5% compared to 2019, making further progress towards our target. Our Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased wire rod were -7% lower in 2024 compared to 2023 and -16% lower compared to 2019.

Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods (in ton CO2e)
	20191	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Scope 3 emissions from purchased wire rod2	4 628 000	4 356 000	4 796 000	3 953 000	4 186 000	3 909 000
Scope 3 emissions from other purchased goods3	491 630	480 483	641 819	813 371	637 756	569 390

¹2019 is the reference year for SBTi-calculation

²Calculation based on tons of wire rod purchased and average tCO2e/t steel data obtained from wire rod supplier or based on CRU dataset if no supplier data are available.

³Calculation based on emission factors related to spend via the Makersite estimation tool. As a result, these estimates do not necessarily reflect real changes in emissions. In future years we will investigate improved methodologies that better reflect the actual situation (see above for more details).

Scope 3 calculation methodology:

• Methodology developed with reference to the GHG Protocol.
• Scope 3 emissions estimation tools generally provide information on CO2e equivalent emissions (CO2e).
• Quantification of GHG emissions is subject to inherent uncertainty because of incomplete scientific and methodological knowledge used to determine emission factors and the values needed to combine emissions of different gases.
• In 2024, 42% of our total Scope 3 GHG emissions were based on primary data collected directly from our suppliers or other value chain partners. For an additional 31% of our total Scope 3 GHG emissions we received partial data from our suppliers.
• Purchased goods and services: calculation based on tons of wire rod purchased and tCO2e/t steel data provided by suppliers plus a calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on raw materials spend excluding wire rod.
• • Capital goods: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on Capex spend on tangible fixed assets (based on actuals quarter 1-quarter 3 + quarter 4 estimates), split using emission factor for machinery (66.7%) and electrical equipment (33.3%).
• Fuel and energy related activities (not included in Scope 1 or 2): calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions. Since this year we have calculated for all years upstream CO2e emissions for our purchased electricity using the Life Cycle Upstream Emissions Factors from IEA.
• Upstream transportation and distribution: calculation by the Makersite estimation tool based on tons shipped from suppliers to Bekaert sites plus relevant emission factors provided by Makersite tool.
• Waste generated in operations: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on waste produced.
• Business travel: emissions from air travel only emissions from company cars/buses are included in Scope 1
• emissions. Data provided by Egencia and C-trip, based on journeys undertaken by Bekaert employees. • Employee commuting: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on number of own workforce (employees plus non-employees).
• Upstream leased assets: none in Bekaert.
• Downstream transportation and distribution: calculation based on sea, air, and road freight journeys. For sea freight, the emissions are based on the MSC carbon calculator. Volumes shipped are considered as gross tons shipped, distances are per port-port pair and emission factors are taken from the MSC calculator. For road freight, the methodology applied is compliant with the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework, and uses Transporeon Carbon Visibility, with a combination of calculation methods using fuel based primary data, route-based modelling and/or industry standard modelling. For air freight, emissions are based on input from Bekaert's main suppliers who all use the EcoTransIT emissions calculator.
• Processing of sold products: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on estimated processing costs and tonnages for the two largest categories of products sold.
• Use of sold products: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on products sold for internal combustion engine vehicle drive train applications (as per SBTi advice regarding qualifying products and direct/indirect Scope 3 emissions).
• End of life treatment of sold products: calculation via the Makersite estimation tool based on tons sold.
• Downstream leased assets: none in Bekaert.
• Franchises: none in Bekaert.
• Investments include the scope 1 & 2 of our joint-ventures multiplied by the % share of equity
• As explained above, some of the emission estimates included in our Scope 3 inventory are based on emission factors related to spend or financial value via the Makersite estimation tool. As a result, these estimates do not necessarily reflect real changes in emissions. In future years we will investigate improved methodologies that better reflect the actual situation.
• Due to new emission factors, improved methodology, accuracy and coverage of emission estimates for a number of categories, our scope 3 data for all years disclosed have been updated.

ESRS E1-6 AR39, §46g, i, h

GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits (E1-7)

GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits are not applicable to Bekaert. ESRS E1-7 §56, 58, 59

Internal carbon pricing (E1-8)

We have developed an internal carbon price within our internal global capital expenditure program and will start using this as from 2025. An internal carbon price of € 100/Ton CO2e will be used as a shadow price when calculating the business case for capital projects and is applied for Scope 1 and 2. We have conducted an analysis of our peers to define the current appropriate internal carbon price for Bekaert. Due to the fact that the majority of our Scope 1 & 2 emissions is related to our production processes, we only apply the internal carbon price for capital projects as these have the largest impact on our carbon footprint. ESRS E-1-8 §62, §63

E2 Pollution

Our processes to identify and assess material pollutionrelated impacts, risks and opportunities (E2 - IRO-1)

The material impacts, risks and opportunities related to pollution have been identified as part of the overall double materiality assessment through analyzing internal and external documents and conducting interviews with key internal and external stakeholders.

Following pollution-related material topics have been identified for Bekaert:

Negative impact	Inherent to the nature of our business, Bekaert uses hazardous substances and chemicals in its production processes. Bekaert uses hazardous substances and materials in a controlled way in its production process to minimize any impact on people and the environment.
Risk	The use of certain substances and chemicals currently used in our production processes could be restricted in the future. We monitor regulatory developments and are preparing for potential changes through our ongoing focus on technology and our efforts to innovate.

The materiality assessment process is described in section IRO-1 on page 182. ESRS E2 - IRO-1 §11a, b, AR 9

Policies related to substances of concern (E2-1)

We believe that taking care of people and the environment is fundamental to the success of the business. To achieve this we encourage a culture of respect and compliance, underpinned by a defined set of standards, including principles and processes.

Via our Safety, Health and Environment policy, Bekaert is committed to protect the people and the environment including prevention of pollution. The Bekaert Safety, Health & Environment policy applies to all employees and anyone working at or visiting our premises. Roles and accountabilities are clearly described. The Bekaert Safety, Health & Environment policy is available in English on our website. ESRS E2-1 §14

In order to guarantee the same level of care for all our employees worldwide, we have implemented a global standard with internal exposure limits for a set of relevant hazardous chemicals and agents. These internal exposure limits are in line with, and at times go beyond, the most stringent limits in any of the countries we operate in.

Our production plants operate in accordance with their environmental permit and the company's environmental management system. We operate our assets globally in accordance with ISO 14001 and, where applicable, ISO 45001. ESRS E2-1 §15 b, c

Our actions and resources related to substances of concern (E2-2)

We have a product stewardship framework and related capability building in place. The framework covers:

• standardized chemical management,
• environmental compliance of both raw materials and finished products, and
• related customer expectations.

We have a global chemical management standard and a global chemical management software tool in place which allows an efficient implementation of the standard, a strict governance process, inventory management and more proactive chemical product compliance.

Our chemical management software tool has been deployed in all production sites to keep track of use and control of chemicals, including substances of concern.

As part of the chemical exposure standard, applicable for a set of relevant hazardous chemicals and agents, we monitor at least on a yearly basis the exposure of employees to these substances of concern to assure exposure is limited to the minimum. If necessary, additional mitigating and/or protective measures are taken.

In line with the ISO 14001 requirements, a company-wide process for life cycle management has been deployed. The process aims to identify potentially significant environmental impacts in the entire supply chain, considering all the stages of the life cycle of our finished products and how to address them in an appropriate way.

At Bekaert, we closely monitor the EU REACH regulation to confirm compliance in a proactive way related both to the raw materials we are using and to our finished products. We expect from our suppliers that they verify their REACH compliance in the supply process of raw materials. Furthermore, we identify substances of concern and start proactive phase-out programs. In case we identify important regional differences in hazard classification and exposure limits, we are committed to applying our own company-specific hazard classification and exposure limits which are mandatory if no stricter regulations apply.

A dedicated regulatory team has been set-up at corporate level of the Safety, Health and Environmental organization in order to support the company in meeting these goals.

ESRS E2-2 §16, 18

Targets related to substances of concern (E2-3)

Bekaert's global safety approach aims to create a no-harm-to-anyone working environment.

We have not set specific external targets on substances of concern. However, we have defined internal exposure limits for a set of relevant hazardous chemicals and agents in order to guarantee the same level of care for all our employees worldwide. ESRS E2-3 §23d

Substances of concern and substances of very high concern (E2-5)

Type (only applicable for products, not for services)	Chronic hazard to the aquatic environment	Reproductive toxicity
Total amount of substances of concern that are procured (ton)	17 986	1 033
Amount of substances of concern that leave facilities as part of products (ton)	14 579	0
Total amount of substances of very high concern that are procured (ton)	1 033	1 033
Amount of substances of very high concern that leave facilities as part of products (ton)	0	0

In scope for our data collection are the amounts of base metals procured and the amounts of these metals remaining on our products produced. These metals represent the majority in terms of weight of the substances of (very high) concern we use and process. Base metals are either used to produce a specific coating on steel wires or as a production aid.

The reported amounts of substances of (very high) concern only include pure substances belonging to either category and not those in (usually small concentrations in) mixtures. We report the amount of substances of (very high) concern procured per hazard class, based on the information in the safety data sheets of the substances. The amount of substances that leave our facility have been calculated by multiplying the procured volumes with average scrap rates for the products using those substances.

This approach provides a very good estimate of the total amounts both procured and leaving our facilities, given the specific nature of our business and products we use.

We also want to emphasize that the hazard class of the reported substances does not reflect the actual risk to the environment or human health. For instance, the classification "chronic hazard to the aquatic environment" does not take into account the fact that the substances we buy and send out are solid metals, not water-soluble salts. Also, the preventive and protective measures we have to limit exposure to certain chemicals and substances are not reflected in the hazard classification table.

Note: substances of very high concern are a subset of substances of concern. Hence substances that belong to both hazard classes are disclosed in each category in the table above. ESRS E2-5 §32, §34, §35

E3 Water

Our processes to identify and assess material water-related impacts, risks and opportunities (E3 - IRO-1)

The material impacts, risks and opportunities related to water have been identified as part of the double materiality assessment. The materiality assessment is described in section IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process on page 182.

In addition, as part of the physical impact of climate change assessment, water stress and drought have been assessed on asset level basis. The outcome of the physical risk assessment study can be found on page 199.

There were no direct consultations with potential affected communities, however insights were collected indirectly via proxies who have an informed view of the potential affected communities. At this stage and to the best of our knowledge, no material impacts of water on communities have been identified.

The following water-related material IROs have been identified:

Negative impact	We use water directly in our production processes and also indirectly for evaporative cooling purposes. We focus on water saving projects especially but not limited to water stressed regions.
Risk	Access to water could be impacted by climate change in water stressed regions in the future. Next to this, potential future regulatory changes on water usage could eventually also have an impact. First and foremost, Bekaert is taking actions to minimize the use of fresh water. Relevant regulatory developments are also being monitored.

ESRS E3 - IRO-1 §8a, b

Policies related to water (E3-1)

Water conservation is crucial because it preserves freshwater resources, supports ecosystems, reduces water use, and ensures a sustainable supply for future generations. At Bekaert, we are committed to reducing our impacts related to water withdrawal, consumption and discharge, especially in water stressed regions, via:

• Monitoring water withdrawal, including the use and sourcing of water in our operations;
• Building internal awareness on the importance of water conservation;
• Implementing programs to reduce our water usage in both production processes and supporting cooling processes, including reuse and recycling of water.

After use and reuse many times over, water that cannot be further recycled is treated according to best industry practices and compliant with local legal requirements before it leaves our premises. Further more, we have a risk management program in place (more information is disclosed in section E3-2 on page 215) to prevent water pollution resulting from our operations.

Our water policy is designed to align the organization with our water targets. It applies to all consolidated operations and businesses. The Chief Operating Officer oversees formulating the policy. Divisional CEOs with the support of relevant corporate functions are responsible for ensuring this policy is implemented in their respective business and operations. The policy is made available internally via the Bekaert Document Management System (BDMS), It is also available in English on our website. ESRS E3-1 §11 §12 §13

Our actions and resources related to water (E3-2)

We use water in our production processes, and we want to save every unnecessary drop. We are taking a close look at our water consumption and are implementing programs to reduce our water usage, especially, but not exclusively, in water stressed areas.

Prevention and risk management

Prevention is better than mitigation. Our prevention and risk management-related activities include, amongst other initiatives:

• • Programs to reduce our water withdrawal and consumption, especially but not exclusively in water stressed areas.
• Protection against soil and groundwater contamination with physical primary and secondary containment as well as condition monitoring and preventative maintenance.

Actions

To reduce water consumption, especially but not exclusively in water stressed areas, we focus on:

• Infrastructure-related consumption (e.g. water leakage management, control of evaporation losses, steam condensate reuse);
• Process water use (e.g. conductivity-controlled rinsing, wastewater recovery); and
• Sanitary water controls (e.g. water saving faucets in bathrooms).

Since 2021 we implemented 30 water savings projects and saved 0.26 m³ per ton product.

Recognizing the significant carbon and wider environmental footprint associated with producing our products and solutions, our global program, "You Know Watt" aims to further reduce our energy use, water consumption, and waste generation in a structured way. More information on our You Know Watt program is disclosed in section E1-3 on page 204.

Resources

Our program "You Know Watt" moves from plant to plant, supporting local teams in building awareness on water savings and identifying water consumption saving opportunities. Water savings programs are prioritized with focus on water stressed areas and included in our Capex roadmap. ESRS E3-2 §17, §18, §19

Targets related to water (E3-3)

Our ambition is to reduce our relative⁴ freshwater intake in water stressed areas by -15% by 2030 compared to 3.87 m³ /ton in 2019. This target has been set on a voluntary basis. At the end of 2024, we reached 3.56 m³ /ton or -8% reduction versus 2019, compared to 3.69 m³/ton at the end of 2023 or -5% versus 2019.

One of the key levers for this reduction is our practice of recycling and reusing water multiple times until it can no longer be recycled.

Our target together with the actions defined in section E3-2 on page 215, focuses on reducing the impact of our operations especially, but not limited to, water stressed areas as well as on safeguarding the water quality via treatment of water before it leaves our facilities. ESRS E3-3 §22, §23a, c, §25, AR23a

Water data (E3-4)

Change of scope: we disclose water data for our consolidated plants only, to align with our water target and CSRD reporting scope (compared to water data including joint ventures (JVs) in previous annual reports).

Water consumption

Water consumption = total water withdrawal - total water discharge.

Total water consumption was 3 477 816 m³ of which 1 756 768 m³ from areas with water stress⁵

Water consumption (in m3 )	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total water consumption	3 920 629	3 870 611	3 386 448	3 477 816
From areas with water stress	1 510 132	1 728 473	1 693 203	1 756 768
Total water recycled and reused				112 314
Total water stored				2 800
Changes in storage				0

Total water recycled and reused is only for plants with zero liquid discharge.

Total water stored and changes in storage are volumes from our main storage tanks.

⁴measured against ton of final product produced

⁵Water stress: in areas with water stress, the ratio of total annual water withdrawal to total available annual renewable water supply is high (40-80%) or extremely high (>80%)

Water consumption intensity in m3 per million € net
revenue	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total water consumption intensity	940	774	782	879

ESRS E3-4 §28, §29

Water withdrawal

	2019
Water withdrawal (in m3)	(baseline)	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total water withdrawal	7 960 995	7 595 565	7 276 222	6 533 703	6 588 020
from areas with water stress	3 393 081	3 380 791	3 247 638	3 022 796	2 974 932
Water withdrawal intensity (in m3 per million € net revenue)	2019 (baseline)	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total water withdrawal	2 073	1 821	1 454	1 510	1 664
from areas with water stress	884	811	649	698	752
Freshwater withdrawal by source (in m3 )	2019 (baseline)	2021	2022	2023	2024
Surface water	571 820	626 152	557 911	456 066	458 901
from areas with water stress	559 415	604 732	546 179	447 387	458 901
Groundwater	1 719 278	1 712 431	1 758 522	1 544 234	1 653 351
from areas with water stress	669 753	705 207	727 599	682 440	731 452
Total third-party water	5 669 897	5 256 983	4 959 790	4 533 403	4 475 768
from areas with water stress	2 163 913	2 070 852	1 973 860	1 862 305	1 784 579
Third-party water by source (in m3 )	2019 (baseline)	2021	2022	2023	2024

Third-party water from surface water	5 198 266	4 548 478	4 141 280	4 025 550	4 188 422
from areas with water stress	1 954 801	1 782 727	1 687 450	1 686 665	1 622 466
Third-party water from ground water	471 630	708 505	818 510	507 852	287 346
from areas with water stress	209 112	288 125	286 410	175 639	162 113

Water discharge

Water discharge (in m3 )	2021	2022	2023	2024
Total water discharge	3 674 936	3 405 611	3 147 255	3 110 204
to areas with water stress	1 870 659	1 519 165	1 329 593	1 218 164
Water discharge by destination (in m3 )	2021	2022	2023	2024
Surface water	1 239 916	1 194 334	985 393	892 212
Freshwater	1 685	32 893	9 007	5 455
Other water	1 238 231	1 161 441	976 386	886 757
Groundwater	0	0	0	0
Sea water	44 635	16 432	25 596	22 292
Freshwater	0	0	0	0
Other water	44 635	16 432	25 596	22 292
Third-party water	2 390 386	2 194 846	2 136 265	2 195 700
Freshwater	45 965	56 212	11 932	204 385
Other water	2 344 421	2 138 634	2 124 333	1 991 314
Water discharge to areas with water stress	1 870 659	1 519 165	1 329 593	1 218 164
Freshwater	9 464	19 652	15 300	43 324
Other water	1 861 195	1 499 513	1 314 293	1 174 840

Water withdrawal data and water discharge data were calculated based on either invoices or water meter readings.

ESRS E3-5 AR32

E5 Resource use & circular economy

Our processes to identify and assess material resource use and circular economy-related impacts, risks and opportunities (E5 - IRO-1)

The material impacts, risks and opportunities related to resource use and circular economy have been identified as part of the double materiality assessment. The materiality assessment is described in section ESRS 2 General information - IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process on page 182.

Assessment was done through analyzing internal and external documents and conducting interviews with key internal and external stakeholders. There were no direct consultations with potential affected communities, however insights were collected indirectly via proxies who have an informed view of the potential affected communities.

Following material impacts, risks and opportunities have been identified related to resource use and circular economy:

Negative impact	The depletion of natural resources has a negative impact on the planet. We strive to reduce sourcing of virgin materials with a clear aim to increase the amount of recycled materials that we purchase whenever there is customer demand. In our sourcing strategy we balance the availability of recycled materials, performance and cost. Next to this we work to reduce waste by embedding circular economy principles in our production processes and product offerings.
Positive impact	Our aim is to minimize waste, promote recycling and reuse, enhance resource efficiency and reduce dependency on virgin materials through innovative circular design, co-developments & partnerships. Circular design principles are part of our innovation strategy.
Risk	We see the availability of sufficient recycled input materials as a potential supply chain risk. Externally driven changes in customer demands or required speed of technological changes may reduce our competitiveness. Impactful technology changes can affect sectors that are relevant to Bekaert. We strive to protect our market position and market share through innovation, co-development and partnerships.
Opportunity	We strive to strengthen our market position and market share through innovation, co-development and partnerships and sustainable and circular solutions.

All business units focus on resource use and circular economy principles. Based on our 2019 emissions data, our main raw material wire rod accounts for more than 80% of our total Scope 3 upstream CO2e emissions. Therefore, we prioritize this area and have been actively engaging with our suppliers since our first sustainability campaign in 2021. We embed circularity in our procurement strategy by adopting circular strategies in the innovation of products and processes. Additionally, we take actions to minimize resource use during our operations. ESRS E5 IRO-1 §11a-b

Policies related to resource use and circular economy (E5-1)

Bekaert's Resource Use and Circular Economy Policy outlines our commitment to minimizing the use of virgin materials, enhancing resource efficiency, and embedding circularity across our value chain. Our approach is based on two key pillars:

• Sustainable Operations:

We prioritize the use of recycled materials in manufacturing to reduce reliance on virgin resources. By implementing systems that recycle and reuse materials like water and packaging, and partnering with local recyclers to achieve 100% recycling of steel scrap, we minimize waste and optimize resource use. This operational approach directly supports our sustainability objectives.

• Sustainable Solutions:

We design our products with durability, recyclability, and adaptability in mind, reducing both waste and the carbon footprint of our customers. While we do not have control over the end-of-life of our solutions, our focus on circularity enables us to collaborate with partners across the value chain to develop and implement circular business models that facilitate recycling and reuse. Products made from steel can significantly contribute to a circular, low carbon future because steel is the most recycled material globally.

Through these efforts based on the 9Rs framework (Refuse, Rethink, Reduce, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Repurpose, Recycle and Recover), Bekaert addresses material impacts and risks while fostering long-term value creation for all stakeholders and promoting circular economy principles.

Our Resource Use and Circular Economy policy applies to all consolidated operations and businesses. The Chief Operating Officer oversees formulating the policy. Divisional CEOs with the support of the relevant corporate functions are responsible for ensuring this policy is implemented in their respective business and operations. The policy is available in English on our website. ESRS E5-1 §14, §15, §16

Our actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy (E5-2)

Throughout the year, we progressed by launching key partnerships and initiatives aimed at enhancing circularity and sustainable resource management across the entire life cycle of our products and value chain.

Sustainable Operations through use of recycled materials and recycling

• Wire rod: Bekaert has a validated SBTi Scope 3 target to reduce purchased goods and services emissions by 19.7% by 2035. A key focus is on the wire rod we purchase, as this represents more than 80% of the related emissions (based on 2019 emissions). Steel is an ideal material for a circular, low carbon future because it is the most recycled material globally. Recycled content in wire rod is an essential contributor to reach the target. The total recycled content in wire rod was 24%% in 2024. This represents a 4% increase compared with 2023 due to a clear shift towards steel with a significantly higher recycled content. In 2024 we reached an important milestone with 50% of all our wire rod suppliers providing direct data on their full scope emissions, representing over 70% of our upstream scope 3 emissions linked to wire rod. This information helps to better align our future purchasing decisions.
• To increase the content of recycled raw materials, we adopt techniques in our product and process design that support the use of scrap-based steel wire rod.
• We promote circular economy and the use of recycled materials within our supply chain. In line with our scope 3 roadmap, we will continue to engage our suppliers on making progress on technical trials with more sustainable materials and technologies, and a further improvement in data quality and availability. This should help accelerate material circularity and decarbonization as from 2026. Business units are taking initiatives to increase the amount of recycled content in their products, driven by market and customer needs.
• The procurement department has also been working on material sustainability topics related to packaging, focusing on reuse, recycled content, and reduction. Spools are an important type of packaging for Bekaert, as most of our products are wound on spools to be delivered to our customers.
• Recycling: We invest in waste management that prioritizes recycling over disposal. For instance, in addition to reducing our freshwater intake, we recycle and reuse water many times until it cannot be further recycled. Additionally, we partner with local recycling companies to recycle our waste. 100% of all steel scrap is returned to the steel industry for recycling. We also support local circular economy initiatives beyond the products that we supply.
• Waste: more information on our efforts to recycle waste are disclosed in section E5-5 on page 222.

Sustainable Solutions through innovation and partnerships

In 2024, Bekaert continued to make progress in sustainability through our innovative solutions. Here are a few illustrations:

• One of our key products, Dramix® steel fibers, has been instrumental in reducing the environmental impact of construction projects by enabling the use of less concrete, less steel and less water compared to traditional reinforcement solutions such as rebar and mesh, significantly lowering the carbon footprint of construction projects. This sustainable approach not only enhances the durability and performance of concrete structures but also supports the circular economy by reducing the need for new raw materials and minimizing waste. The benefits of Dramix® were recognized with two prestigious awards in 2024.Firstly, Dramix® was honored at the Pioneers Forum 2024for its contributions to sustainability in the construction industry, in collaboration with Société du Grand Paris and Eiffage. By using Dramix® steel fibers to reinforce Line 16.1 of the Grand Paris Express, Société du Grand Paris was able to reduce CO2e emissions by an average of 10 000 tons per 10 km of tunnels compared to traditional rebar reinforcement. Additionally, the Dramix® solution received the 2024 China Green Point Award from YICAI (China Business Network) for its role in construction decarbonization. Furthermore, Dramix® was showcased as a sustainable solution at the City of Tomorrow exhibition in Brussels' Tour & Taxis.

In addition to its benefits for sustainable construction, we also examined the recyclability of Dramix® fibers at the end of their life cycle. Our research with the Department of Civil Engineering at KU Leuven investigated the recycling potential of fiber reinforced concrete with 4D Dramix® fibers, revealing that most recycled fibers retain 75% of their original tensile strength and demonstrating promising results of their reuse.

• Another area where Bekaert made significant advancements in 2024 is in sustainable tire reinforcement solutions. In February, we published the Bekaert Recycled Content Standard, setting a benchmark for transparent definition and certification of circularity in tire reinforcement. Our teams have worked relentlessly on scaling up our high recycled content (HRC) offering featuring a minimum recycled content of 50% for tire cord and 70% for bead wire reinforcement. We have developed over 20 HRC tire reinforcement products across 10 plants worldwide to date, and this is just the beginning. A recent breakthrough is the adoption of HRC at scale in Ultra Tensile solutions. This enables tire makers to benefit from both lower weight and rolling resistance, as well as circularity. These achievements are the result of great collaboration with our customers and suppliers, and Bekaert's leading process technology expertise.

• In 2024, sustainable innovation remained at the core of Bekaert's strategy to drive the circular economy. Through our FutureOptions platform, we foster groundbreaking ideas that meet current needs and contribute to a sustainable future. This platform serves as a foundation for developing solutions that enhance resource efficiency, reduce waste, and promote circularity across our value chain.

Our commitment to innovation was highlighted by the Bekaert Technology and Innovation Awards, which celebrate the outstanding contributions of our global teams. These awards recognize the pioneering spirit that has guided us for over 140 years. One of the award categories focuses on sustainability, honoring projects that help our customers achieve their sustainability objectives. This recognition not only rewards the work of our teams but also underscores the importance of sustainable practices in our innovation efforts. One notable initiative is our participation in the TAILWIND project, where we are developing advanced mooring solutions for floating offshore wind farms. By embracing sustainable-by-design principles, we aim to deliver cutting-edge station-keeping technologies. Additionally, we are providing mooring solution analysis for the world's largest offshore floating solar power plant, Nautical SUNRISE. This project is committed to assessing the environmental impact, circularity, and full life cycle sustainability of offshore floating solar systems. The assessment will cover not only the demonstrator project but also multiple GW-scale commercial projects, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the technology's ecological implications.

These accolades reflect the focus Bekaert has on leveraging innovation and partnerships to support the circular economy and create a positive environmental impact.

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

At Bekaert, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a crucial calculation tool that drives our business and sustainability strategy. We conduct LCAs to ensure transparency, quantify our impact, and demonstrate the sustainability of our products to our customers, utilizing an AI-driven tool for maximum scalability. This also helps us optimize resource use and define opportunities to contribute to a circular economy.

We integrate LCAs and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) into our business strategy discussions and decision-making processes. This approach enables us to engage in valuable conversations with our customers about new product developments and partnerships, using LCAs as a compass to identify initiatives that align with our short-term and long-term business goals while contributing to the sustainability goals of our customers.

LCAs are also embedded in our technology and innovation processes, ensuring that every new product, service, or technology we develop contributes to sustainability and supports the circular economy. By focusing on designing products with higher durability, recyclability, and adaptability, we aim to enhance product designs to minimize the carbon footprints of our customers and their end-users, and collaborate along the value chain to develop and implement circular business models, thereby closing the loop in our value chain.

In 2024, we reinforced our commitment to sustainability by making significant progress in enhancing transparency through LCAs, and obtaining third-party verification where required. For instance, our elevator hoisting products, such as Flexisteel® , were verified for their greenhouse gas (GHG) savings potential compared to traditional steel wire rope solutions, meeting the stringent criteria of the EU Taxonomy.

We also prioritize continuous learning and development. In 2024, we conducted over 20 hours of dedicated training sessions for our employees on the significance of LCAs and EPDs for value creation and how to perform these calculations.

For us, LCAs and EPDs serve as the guiding compass in our commitment to sustainability and the circular economy.

Packaging

In 2024, we achieved high spool reuse with 97% of tire cord spools being reused. 100% of the tire cord cardboard boxes we purchase and use in China, India, and Indonesia are made from recycled paper. Additionally, initiatives have been undertaken to reduce the amount of packaging used, with one initiative reducing cardboard layers resulting in more than 100 tons savings. Similarly, a pilot has been undertaken to reduce the thickness of plastic bags by 20% and increase their recycled content by 30%.

Recycled content standard for wire products

Because of the absence of a widely recognized international standard on how to calculate the recycled content within steel wire products and how to communicate this further down the supply chain Bekaert has drafted its own standard. This standard combines the definitions for recycled content of ISO 14021 with that of controlled blending as described in ISO 22095. The document is available to the general public, and can be downloaded freely from our website at the following location: www.bekaert.com > Sustainability > Policies > Recycled Content Steel Wire Products. With this standard it is now also possible for a third independent party to verify and certify any steel producing or steel processing plant for recycled content.

ESRS E5-2 §19, §20b-c-d-f

Waste management

In 2024, we have successfully implemented a waste acid recycling unit in one of our main production sites located in Weihai (China), which reduces the disposal of hazardous waste acid from this plant's operation by more than 75%. In parallel, we are optimizing our process settings to allow even higher reuse rate of the regenerated acid and strive to achieve zero waste acid disposal.

For waste, we focus on three main categories which together account for ~80% of total hazardous waste produced:

• Hydrochloric acid
• Sludge from wastewater treatment
• Lubricants

Since 2022 we implemented several waste reduction projects which resulted in a significant reduction of hazardous waste:

KPI	2022	2023	2024
Number of waste reduction projects implemented*	4	12	21
Reduction in hazardous waste (kg/ton end product)*	2.20	3.90	5.44

*cumulative figures (2022+2023+2024)

In 2024 a total of € 1.45 million was spent on waste reduction projects. Additional waste reduction projects are planned.

ESRS E5-2 §19, §20 e-f

Targets related to resource use and circular economy (E5-3)

Our commitment to efficient resource use and the principles of circular economy are reflected in our ambitious targets for the coming years.

Sustainable solutions

We aim to achieve 65% of our sales from sustainable solutions by 2030⁶ . In 2024, we reached 45%. These solutions are defined and classified according to the EU Taxonomy, which includes circular economy as one of its six environmental objectives. This alignment ensures that our products and services contribute to sustainability and support the transition to a circular economy, considering resource inflows and outflows, including waste and products and materials.

To achieve this, we focus on:

• Increasing circular product design: This includes designing for durability, dismantling and recyclability.
• Raising the circular material use rate: Leveraging recycled materials to enhance sustainability.
• Sustainable sourcing and use of renewable resources.
• Collaborating across the value chain: Strengthening partnerships to co-create and implement circular business models that extend product lifecycles and reduce environmental impact.

Sustainable operations

In addition, Bekaert is dedicated to integrating sustainable practices into its operations.

Bekaert has set a target to reduce the quantity of its three main categories of disposed hazardous waste relative to the amount of final product with 25% by 2030 compared to 37.7 kg/ton in the base year 2019. At end of 2024, we reached 31.4 kg/ton or -16.6% reduction compared to 2019.

This target focuses on the layer 1, prevention of waste, of the waste hierarchy cfr. Article 4(1) of the Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. This target has been set on a voluntary basis.

Other focus areas include:

• Effective waste management.
• Minimizing reliance on virgin materials by incorporating recycled inputs into our processes.
• Recycling and reusing materials such as water and packaging to reduce waste and resource consumption. • Partnering with local recyclers: Ensuring 100% recycling of steel scrap and maximize recycling of other materials through robust partnerships.

These targets collectively drive us towards a more resource-efficient and environmentally responsible future, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability and the principles of the circular economy. ESRS E5-3 §24, §25, §27

⁶We will evaluate our ambition and targets as part of our next strategic planning cycle. We refer to the last paragraph of section SBM-1.

Resource inflows (E5-4)

Our major material resource inflows consist of steel wire rod, base metals (primarily Copper and Zinc) and packaging. These are the materials we determined most relevant to track in terms of circularity as they are the core materials used in the majority of products we deliver to our customers, are connected to finite resources and have high potential for recycling and re-use. Other materials consumed through our production processes include lubricants and other chemicals, as well as polymers and plastics used in a smaller number of coating applications.

In calculating the share of recycled steel in the wire rod we purchase, we focus on collecting granular data directly from our suppliers, supplementing where necessary with internationally renowned databases and estimated values based on the steel making technology used. Data quality is important and therefore we are working closely with our strategic suppliers and international organizations to pave the way for more standardized and certified reporting. To increase the content of recycled raw materials, we adopt techniques in our product and process design that support the use of scrap-based steel wire rod. Applying the ISO 14021 definition, the total of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content in wire rod was 24%% in 2024. This represents a 4% increase compared with 2023 due to a clear shift towards steel with a significantly higher recycled content.

In 2024 we requested recycled content information from our base metal suppliers based on the ISO 14021 definition. By combining these inputs with internal available data sources (such as technical data sheets), we covered 95% of the base metals volume. By analyzing the obtained data, we will identify opportunities to increase the recycled content in 2025 and beyond. ESRS E5-4 §30 §32

Resource inflows	In ton product
Overall total weight of materials used
Wire rod	2 004 683
Base metals	17 928
Packaging	36 008

Resource inflows	In ton product	In %
Weight of secondary recycled components
Wire rod	476 513	24%
Base metals	5 230	29%
Packaging	1 687	5%

Packaging consists of ferrous metal (spools), paper and cardboard, plastic and wood. We do not source any biological materials. ESRS E5-4 §31

Resource outflows (E5-5)

Products and materials

Bekaert serves a broad portfolio of products to various end-markets. We integrate circular economy principles into the design of our production processes and products. Further details, including examples from key processes and products, can be found in other sections of this chapter.

Durability: The majority of our products are embedded in end-products, making it challenging to provide publicly available industry averages for each product group. However, we ensure that our products are designed for long-term durability, aligning with or exceeding industry standards where applicable.

Repairability: Due to the nature of our product offerings, which are often integral components of larger systems or products, the repairability of the final product or solution is out of our control. Consequently, no established rating system for repairability exists for our products.

Recyclable Content: While we do not have direct control over the end-of-life of our solutions, we strive to collaborate across the value chain with circularity in mind. Our primary raw material, steel, is the most recycled material globally. It should be technically possible to recycle our steel products at the end of their lifecycle, even when they are integrated into the final product or solution. For more information on our ongoing initiatives to enhance recyclability, please refer to section E5-2.

ESRS E5-5 §35, §36

Waste

All steel scrap generated in our processes is recycled and returned to steel mills for reuse. This approach underscores our commitment to resource efficiency and waste minimization, which are fundamental principles of the circular economy. 82% of all our total waste generated is being recycled.

Total waste generated (in ton product)	Hazardous	Non-hazardous
	90 860	100 549
Total waste diverted from disposal
Preparation for re-use	2 014	1 927
Recycling	61 760	92 436
Incineration with energy recovery	931	171
Total waste directed to disposal
Incineration without energy recovery	3 565	78
Landfill	22 590	5 937
Total non-recycled waste
absolute number		33 272
in %		17%

ESRS E5-5 §37, §39

The main contributors to the hazardous waste are:

• Spent acid from pickling of steel wires, which contains high concentrations of iron
• Spent water based lubricants from wire drawing
• Sludge from our wastewater treatment plants, containing metal hydroxides

The non-hazardous waste consists mainly out of scrap metal and packaging material.

The quantities reported above are calculated based on the amounts disposed by our sites in 2024 as mentioned in either invoices from waste handling companies or certificates from local authorities. ESRS E5-5 §38, §40

S1 Own workers

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (S1 - SBM-3)

As part of our double materiality assessment, we have identified the following material impacts, risks and opportunities related to our own workforce:

Positive	We enhance employee well-being and working conditions through a focus on zero harm, medical plans, assistance
impact	programs, and automation solutions.
Negative	Due to the nature of the business environment that we operate in, we have to address health and safety risks as well as
impact	focusing on the diversity of our workforce. We continue to address these areas via different programs and initiatives.
Risk	Creating safe working conditions, attracting and developing talent are important requirements for the sustainability of our business. We invest in safety compliance programs and attract talent to help to grow our business.
	Opportunity Empowering innovation through talent development, training, and cultural diversity, leads to richer ideas, better decision-making, and increased productivity. This strategy increases our opportunity to attract and retain the talent that we need in order to be successful in the future.

The following subtopics are material for Bekaert:

• Working conditions: secure employment, working time, work-life balance and Health & Safety
• Equal treatment and opportunities for all: gender equality, training and skills development, diversity

Certain material impacts, such as health & safety risks and diversity ratios are inherent to the production environment and industries in which we operate. Other impacts are addressed via our strategic plans (see also ESRS 2 SBM3). ESRS S1 SBM-3 §13

Our disclosures cover all individuals within our own workforce who could be materially impacted. Our own workforce is categorized in this report as follows:

• Employees: workers on the payroll including blue collars, salaried-professionals and managers.
• Non-employees: workers that are not on our payroll but are complementing our payroll workforce.

Potential material negative impacts can occur across regions (such as impacts related to our production processes) or be more connected to specific regions where we operate (such as diversity ratios). We regularly analyze our Health & Safety performance, talent and workforce needs, and diversity ratios to identify business areas or groups of people requiring specific focus. ESRS S1.SBM-3 §14a,b §15 §16

Through these actions, we aim to generate positive impacts for all employees across all regions. To date, we have not identified any material risks or opportunities arising from impacts and dependencies on our workforce. Furthermore, no material impacts on our workforce have emerged from our transition plans. ESRS S1.SBM-3 §14c,d,e

Based on our current processes, we have not identified any own operations at significant risk of incidents of forced labor, compulsory labor or child labor. ESRS S1.SBM -3§14f i, ii, g i, g ii

Respecting human rights

Bekaert Human Rights policy

During 2024, Bekaert formalized its continued commitment to respect human rights: we rolled out and publicly published the Human Rights Policy. Through our commitment, we implement compliance with Article 18 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, meaning alignment with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, including the principles and rights set out in the eight fundamental conventions identified in the Declaration of the International Labor Organization on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Bill of Human Rights.

As described in the policy, we ensure

• our company's operating procedures create an environment where human rights are respected.
• we seek to minimize risks and adverse impacts on human rights, by establishing adequate human rights due diligence.
• the systematic identification, prevention, mitigation, monitoring and remediation of potential or actual risks and their impact to people.

Bekaert's Human Rights policy is available on our website and applies to all Bekaert employees and those representing Bekaert. Furthermore, we promote the policy principles in our supply chain and intend to engage with customers on these principles. The Human Rights policy has been approved by the Bekaert Group Executive. Roles and accountabilities are clearly described in our policy.

During 2024, we have requested all our employees to commit to our human rights policy via the new eLearning for our Code of Conduct which was completed by all managers and salaried professionals, and as well via deploying live awareness sessions for the Blue Collar Workers on the Code of Conduct.

ESRS S1-1 §19, ESRS S1-1 §20a, b, c, ESRS S1-1 §21, ESRS S1-1 §22

Bekaert Code of Conduct

The Bekaert Code of Conduct describes how we put our Bekaert values into practice and which leadership principles or behaviors we expect from every Bekaert employee. Our Code of Conduct covers, among other elements, key areas regarding human rights, non-discrimination, child labor and forced labor, ethics and integrity principles in the workplace and in doing business.

The Code of Conduct specifies its applicability to each of our employees: we promote equal opportunity and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment, or any group at particular risk or vulnerability.

The Bekaert Code of Conduct applies to all employees, executive officers and directors and we expect our suppliers and business partners to uphold the same standards. Roles and accountabilities are clearly described. The Bekaert Code of Conduct was approved by the Board of Directors.

The Bekaert Code of Conduct also outlines the grievance mechanisms we have established. Our Speak Up process is continuously promoted: this grievance mechanism is publicly available and can be used by everyone to report concerns. The incoming concerns provide us information about potential topics and areas for improvement. In addition, there are multiple initiatives deployed within Bekaert to communicate about concerns of groups at particular risk or vulnerability, e.g. through the annual employee engagement survey, confidential advisor, line management, union representatives, Employee Assistant Program (EAP) etc.

The Bekaert Code of Conduct is available on our website in the language of the countries where we operate.

Via the annual mandatory training on the Code of Conduct and the other Compliance live trainings and eLearnings, we raise awareness about risks and the existing policies and processes on how to manage the risks.

ESRS S1-1 §19, ESRS S1-1 §20a, b, c, ESRS S1-1 §21, ESRS S1-1 §22, ESRS S1-1 §24a, b, c, d

Well-being and worklife balance

Bekaert has a global guideline for hybrid working that combines working from a Bekaert location with working remotely or from a home office. The hybrid working model contributes to boosting engagement, well-being and productivity with more flexibility to organize work life-personal life, while maintaining a strong connection with colleagues and the culture of the company.

In principle, it is applicable to all employees bearing in mind that hybrid working for certain groups of employees on the shopfloor is only possible if activities allow this.

The hybrid working policy was approved by the Chief Human Resources Officer. It is available in English on our internal intranet and is deployed locally.

In 2024, Bekaert started deploying a global parental care program. Our new parental leave standard is designed to set a minimum standard for parental leave across all countries where Bekaert operates. The goal is to level

the playing field for working parents and embrace the equal responsibilities of both parents in caring and bonding with their child. It will apply to Bekaert employees worldwide, whether the child is welcomed by birth or through adoption. This minimum standard allows our employees to take time off to care for their newly welcomed child without worrying about job security or financial constraints.

Our approach involves setting a global ambition that is translated into local policies, respecting local legislation and social security provisions, while maintaining the core principles of our minimum standard.

The global parental care program has been approved by the Bekaert Group Executive.

ESRS S1-1 §19

Training and skill development

Bekaert's global learning and development procedure is designed to support the growth of our employees. It outlines the purpose, setup, and guidelines for our development programs, ensuring a consistent and structured approach to learning across the company. This procedure aligns with the company strategy, providing clear standards for the learning process and the systems we use, and is accessible for all employees through Bekaert's document management system.

Furthermore, we have local learning and development procedures that build on the global procedure making sure that all employees, including blue-collar workers, benefit from a structured and consistent approach to learning. Local procedures are tailored to meet the specific needs of each country and are available in the local language through Bekaert's document management system, ensuring that every employee can access relevant training and development opportunities.

Bekaert's global learning and development procedure has been approved by the VP Talent, D&I and Organization Effectiveness.

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) principles are included in the Bekaert Code of Conduct. More information on the Code of Conduct is disclosed in this section on page 225.

Focusing on D&I is important to us at Bekaert as it helps enrich our perspective, be more reflective of the societies that we live and work in, foster a culture of respect, help us to meet our stakeholders' needs, and it enhances innovation efforts.

The Bekaert D&I philosophy and initiatives are shared on our internal intranet. Our D&I journey is an ongoing commitment that is part of our corporate culture and identity, to embrace our diversity and treat others as they want to be treated. We aim for an environment where everyone feels expected, reflected and respected. The D&I philosophy translates our company values into D&I specific behaviors and mindsets:

• Trust We trust in the unique perspectives and experiences of our team
• Integrity We embrace individual identities and perspectives
• Agility We adapt to the unique aspirations and needs of our colleagues, promoting a culture of flexibility and inclusivity
• Boldness We empower each other to try new things and accept that learning from failure is part of daring to go beyond

Our Diversity & Inclusion principles have been approved by the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Health & Safety

Bekaert has a global Safety, Health and Environment policy that lays down the basis for implementing a culture of respect and compliance. It describes the principles, standards and processes we follow to reduce or eliminate risks and create safe and healthy working conditions and explains alignment with internationally recognized management systems.

The Bekaert Safety, Health & Environment policy is approved by the Chief Executive Officer and applies to all employees and anyone working at or visiting our premises. Roles and accountabilities are clearly described.

The Bekaert Safety, Health & Environment policy is available in English on our website. Local language versions are available on our intranet and in our document management system.

ESRS S1-1 §19, ESRS S1-1 §23

How we engage with our workforce (S1-2)

Communicating with and engaging our employees

People engagement and empowerment have always been important at Bekaert. We empower our teams with responsibility, authority and accountability, and count on the engagement of every Bekaert employee in driving a high-performance culture.

• • Bekaert conducts a global employee engagement survey annually to gauge employee engagement across all levels and locations of the organization. The survey is run by an external provider ensuring that all input is confidential. In 2024, we reached a participation rate of 81% (+3% compared to 2023) and a stable engagement rate of 69%. We continue the dialog to learn how employees experience working with us, where we are making progress, and where we can do better. We actively use the dashboard of the surveys in identifying our improvement goals and in implementing initiatives that help our employees unlock their full potential.
• Every quarter, Bekaert's CEO and/or CFO invite all managers and salaried professionals worldwide to join an internal webcast at the occasion of the financial news releases. They share information on Bekaert's performance and the actions to be taken and answer the questions raised. The sessions are recorded and can be replayed afterwards via our internal online video platform.
• Next to the quarterly financial updates, employees are also invited to Communication Town Halls (global, regional and by business or function) that are hosted by the CEO, members of the Bekaert Group Executive and country leadership teams. They share insights on market developments, decisions made, and strategies established and implemented. These sessions engage active interaction with all participants. Input from employees on the topics covered during these sessions is taken into consideration and feedback is provided afterwards.
• The Bekaert Intranet is a place where employees can share and obtain knowledge, find relevant information fast, connect with colleagues, collaborate with team members on common development programs, and actively contribute to impactful communications across the company. Moreover, the company's internal social media platform Viva Engage and video platform are intensively used tools to share best practices, celebrations and ideas. Our employees regularly receive internal news bulletins with corporate messages and business updates.

ESRS S1-2 §27a, b, d, e

The Chief Human Resources Officer has operational responsibility for employee engagement initiatives. ESRS S1-2 §27c

Labor unions and collective bargaining agreements

Communication also includes the information exchange and negotiations with labor unions. We recognize the right of any employee to join or to refrain from joining a labor union. 75% of our employees worldwide are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Agreements with trade unions are concluded locally and typically include the following elements:

• Health & Safety topics such as personal protective equipment, right to refuse unsafe work, inspections, audits, and accident investigations
• Joint management-employee Health & Safety committees and participation of worker representatives in health and safety matters
• Working hours
• Training and education
• Complaints mechanism
• Periodic inspections

ESRS S1-2 §27d

With respect to human rights, Bekaert has a Human Rights policy that is designed to align the organization with our commitment to respecting human rights. More information is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225. ESRS S1-2 §27d

Safety, Health & Environmental Council

Our integral workforce is represented in our Safety, Health and Environmental Council which consists of formal joint management-worker committees that cover Health & Safety and environmental topics. These committees help monitor, collect insights and formulate advice on occupational Health & Safety programs and on environmental programs. ESRS S1-2 §27a

Speak up ! Our processes and tool to remediate negative impacts (S1-3)

In 2024, Bekaert continued to promote the central Speak Up reporting tool. All stakeholders, such as employees and external stakeholders including members of local communities and workers along Bekaert's value chain are able to and encouraged to raise their integrity concerns and/or grievances via the Speak Up tool.

All reports are treated confidentially by Bekaert's dedicated Ethics & Compliance department. The tool is one of several communication vehicles for asking questions or raising concerns. The tool allows for confidential twoway communication between Group Ethics and Compliance and any anonymous or named reporter in 15 languages. Employees are encouraged to speak up and raise concerns by whichever method they feel most comfortable. They may alternatively reach out to their HR representative, to Internal Audit or to their direct

Awareness of the Speak Up program is enhanced in multiple ways: The Speak Up process is very present within the new eLearning on the Code of Conduct which is deployed to all employees with access to our Learning Management System in approximately 15 languages. Other employees, mainly operators, are informed during onboarding and reminded on a regular basis afterwards. Every three years, they receive a verbal update of the Code of Conduct. Also, Speak Up is periodically part of communications from the CEO and senior management. In addition, Bekaert runs a continuous Speak Up campaign through communication materials displayed in its offices and plants. ESRS S1-3 §33

Our Investigation Protocol ensures the quality and consistency of our investigations and internal reporting requirement related to concerns raised. Each allegation case is thoroughly investigated. Remedial measures are taken for all substantiated cases and for those cases where improvement areas are revealed. All incoming reports are handled with the highest level of confidentiality. Bekaert takes all necessary measures to protect employees against any form of retaliation when reporting a concern. In order to remediate the possible negative human rights impacts on own workers and on workers in the value chain, Group Ethics and Compliance verifies the implementation of the action plans for potential substantiated concerns, and reports internally on the higher risk or negative impact cases to the Regional and Group Compliance Committee. ESRS S1-3 §32e

In 2024, 165 integrity allegations were reported and investigated through our integrity reporting channels.

None of the allegations constituted a violation by Bekaert employees of integrity breaches related to discrimination, bribery, or corruption.

Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to our workforce (S1-4)

Human rights

During 2024, Bekaert performed a human rights impact and gap assessment. The assessments identified, in line with the requirements of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, the potential and actual most severe adverse ('salient') human rights impacts in Bekaert's operations and value chain.

These salient risks are either inherent to:

• industry characteristics, i.e. right to life and health, related to industry specific safety exposures
• geographical footprint; e.g. right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion

This study revealed that we already have strong compliance practices and culture in place and suggests improvement areas whose implementation which will be monitored by Group Ethics & Compliance.

ESRS S1-4 §39

Integrity

Bekaert's commitment to integrity, ethics and compliance starts with its Board of Directors (Board) and the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE). The Board's Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (ARFC) meets quarterly to review and evaluate Bekaert's compliance program in relation to the Code of Conduct. Bekaert reports integrity case statistics twice a year to the BGE and ARFC. Bekaert's CEO and other senior leaders regularly communicate with employees about the importance of compliance. Through town hall meetings, staff meetings, messages cascaded through their direct reports, e-mail communications to employees and mandatory compliance trainings, senior leadership emphasizes the importance of integrity and compliance and every employee's responsibility to do the right thing.

Existing risk areas are continuously monitored by senior management and the Ethics & Compliance team and revised by periodic risk assessments, which resulted in updating of policies, digitalization of processes, and new policies e.g. Human rights and Conflict of Interest.

Our hiring policy states that every new employee receives a copy of our Code of Conduct and every year, all salaried professionals and managers worldwide are required to read the Bekaert Code of Conduct, and to renew their commitment to the principles of the Code and the Bekaert values. 100% of the managers and 100% of the salaried professionals renewed their commitment to the Code of Conduct in 2024. Through information sessions during 2024, local management re-informed operators about the Code of Conduct.

Health & safety

Bekaert's global safety approach aims to create a no-harm, risk-free working environment for all employees and for anyone working at or visiting the Bekaert premises. We believe that taking care of people is fundamental to

the success of the business. To achieve this, we operate with a set of standards, based on internal and external principles and compliance rules, while encouraging a culture of leadership and accountability.

Safety programs

The Bekaert safety programs guide all employees toward the same safety mindset and behaviors worldwide.

BeCare, the Bekaert global safety program, launched in 2016, focuses on creating an interdependent safety culture, promoting strong risk awareness, removing risk tolerance, and investing in the necessary tools and equipment to create a safer working environment. BeCare has changed the behavior in our plants and offices and in our meetings with business partners.

Since continuous improvement also applies to our BeCare program, an analysis was done in 2024 to look for opportunities to further improve the program.

Bekaert also launched a development program for site managers and regional operations leaders, BeCare Pro, that builds awareness, knowledge and understanding about Safety, Health & Environment (SH&E)-related compliance and liabilities. The program is aligned with our BeCare Safety program. In 2024 we continued the roll-out of the BeCare Pro development program across the globe.

Every year, we organize a global Health & Safety Week for all our employees to continuously create awareness for Health & Safety risks. In 2024, the focus was on Finger and Fire safety.

Our management continuously emphasizes the importance of safety: each Global Town Hall starts with a safety update to keep awareness for safety a top priority. Safety is also a recurring topic on the agenda of our senior leaders: during each meeting of the Bekaert Group Executive in 2024, two plant managers were invited to share their performance and best practices.

Safety procedures

Bekaert has developed several safety procedures and standards that apply to all plants worldwide. They aim for a coherent and standardized approach to processes and actions across the group.

In line with our BeCare safety program, and to put more emphasis on safety in specific situations, our employees must follow our Life-Saving Rules. In 2024, these Life-Saving Rules were further improved and are now linked to the desired behavior in 10 hazardous situations that have the highest potential to cause a fatality. They apply to everyone: employees, contractors and visitors. Moreover, they are not only applicable at the workplace but also highly recommended on the road, at home and in other situations. Abiding by these rules is a condition of employment at and access to our sites. Following these rules and helping others to do so will save lives. That is why consequence management applies to those who do not follow the Life-Saving Rules.

Apart from the behavioral and knowledge components, we realize that equipment safety is also key in our efforts to improve our safety performance. To meet this need, we have an equipment safety standard in place that describes the requirements to which all new and existing equipment should comply. Bekaert has approved a safety investment program that is being rolled out between 2022 and 2025 as another enabler to create a safe environment for all people at the workplace.

A healthy workplace

In addition to the BeCare and safety investment initiatives aimed at reducing and preventing safety risks, we also want to create and maintain a healthy workplace for our employees.

We monitor workplace conditions such as noise, dust, ergonomics, and temperature. We defined standards and are continuously making further improvements to our equipment.

All employees and subcontractors working in the Bekaert plants worldwide wear personal protective equipment to avoid the risks of injuries and health impacts. This includes uniforms, dust filters, eye and ear protection, as well as grippers and hoists to lift and handle spools, coils, and pallets ergonomically.

Throughout the company, we pay special attention to the safe handling and storage of chemicals. A database records all chemicals used in our plants and strict health and safety guidelines apply to our employees. Employees who are exposed to potentially hazardous materials go through a periodical medical check-up. We are developing and optimizing techniques and processes that eliminate the need for hazardous chemicals during thermal treatment processes.

Health & Safety management system

All our own workers are covered by our Health & Safety management system which is based on legal requirements and/or recognized standards or guidelines and which has been internally audited and/or audited or certified by an external party.

ESRS S1-14 § 88a, ESRS S1-14 §90

Diversity & Inclusion

We want Bekaert to be a great place to work. A place that inspires and ignites creativity and where everyone feels safe and welcome. We want our employees to actively take part in building an inclusive workplace for all. With the support of the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE) and the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Council, employees are encouraged to form affinity groups and collaborate in generating inspiring ideas and creating positive change.

Here are some of the initiatives and programs that are already making a difference and supporting our colleagues in Bekaert.

Implementing Diversity & Inclusion in leadership development programs

We strive to make D&I a key part of our learning and development approach, designed to support inclusion. Our programs provide targeted training and mentorship opportunities to empower employees to succeed in leadership roles.

Implementing bias-free hiring practices

We adopt unbiased and inclusive practices that attract and retain a diverse pool of talent, to the best of our abilities. This includes promoting gender-neutral job descriptions and mitigating unconscious biases throughout the recruitment and selection process.

Well-being/work-life balance

Bekaert has deployed a global employee assistance program that focuses on employees and their families and provides emotional support, financial and legal guidance. 100% of the employees in the Bekaert subsidiaries (compared to 77% in 2023) have access to this program. In addition, other specific mental health programs run in various entities.

During 2024 we delivered a sequence of 12 webinars on various well-being topics to a global audience in 3 languages: English, Chinese and Spanish. Recordings of webinars are made available to all employees.

Special attention was given to the topic of burnout, through webinars for employees and leaders and online materials on the prevention of burnout made available and promoted.

Bekaert has a global hybrid working model. We refer to S1-1 on page 225 for more information.

Bekaert is implementing a global parental care program that is designed to set a minimum standard for parental leave across all countries where Bekaert operates. More information is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225.

Bekaert conducts an annual employee engagement survey. More information on the survey and on the 2024 results is available in section S1-2 on page 227.

Learning & Development

During 2024 we ran Learning Friday sessions every two weeks. Through engaging webinars we brought various topics to our employees in English, Spanish and Chinese. All webinars are recorded and made available to all our employees.

Our Bekaert University offers over 400 courses in various topics organized in 11 active Bekaert Academies, helping our employees to enhance their capabilities and develop new skills.

For example: the Safety, Health and Environment Academy targets operations leaders and helps them obtain the skills needed to improve safety in our operations. The Leadership Academy establishes a wide range of new programs targeting three levels of leadership: how to lead yourself, how to lead others and how to lead the business. The Leadership Academy also offers specific development programs for high potential employees. The Sustainability Academy offers expertise, knowledge and skills for our employees working in specific businesses. Next to the rich existing portfolio, the Technology Academy added sessions focusing on innovation in 2024.

To foster effective collaboration across countries and regions, Bekaert invests in developing the languages skills of its employees.

SustainAbility program – Creating a Better Tomorrow with our customers

In today's world, sustainability has become a crucial aspect of business. Customers are increasingly seeking to work with suppliers that can contribute to their sustainability targets for a more sustainable future.

Through the new SustainAbility program, customer-facing roles such as commercial teams gain a deeper understanding of our sustainability ambition, goals, initiatives, and the tangible progress that we have made. By equipping them with the necessary knowledge and confidence, they are able to showcase our commitment to sustainability, highlight the environmental benefits of our sustainable solutions, and translate it into a value proposition that meets their customer's needs. This enables them to leverage sustainability as a differentiator and discover collaboration opportunities with their customers.

In 2024, over 150 employees from two business units completed this training, significantly enhancing their customer relationship skills and enabling them to better integrate sustainability into their value propositions. Similar trainings will continue in 2025 as this is a ongoing exercise.

Secure employment and working time

Bekaert adheres to a well-structured and fair employment policy that balances the use of temporary and permanent contracts. In most cases, Bekaert offers indefinite (permanent) contracts. Temporary contracts are offered in specific circumstances, such as project-based needs, seasonal or fluctuating demand and skillspecific roles.

In certain countries or entities, the agreed-upon practice is that all employees or employee groups start with a temporary Bekaert contract or a contingent agency contract before transitioning to an indefinite contract. This policy is clear and consistently applied to all roles impacted by this rule. Bekaert does its best to recruit temporary or agency contract holders into indefinite roles if opportunities arise, ensuring that these employees have a path to secure, long-term employment.

Bekaert is committed to providing stable employment opportunities wherever possible. As a result, temporary employees are regularly evaluated for conversion to permanent contracts based on several factors such as performance and skills, business demand and legal and regulatory frameworks.

Through these measures, Bekaert ensures a balance between the flexibility offered by temporary contracts and the security and benefits of permanent employment.

Bekaert remains committed to full compliance with international labor standards and local regulations regarding working hours, contract types, and employee rights. All policies are clearly communicated to employees and enforced across our operations. Additionally, our human resources and internal audit teams conduct regular reviews and audits to ensure that potential instances of non-compliance are swiftly addressed and that we continue to promote fair labor practices.

When undergoing restructuring, Bekaert strives to minimize the impact on affected employees. Where possible, the company considers redeployment within its workforce. Additionally, outplacement services and career counseling are provided. Bekaert also offers a global employee assistance program that includes emotional and mental health support for all employees, that remains available for 3 months after the end of the labor contract.

In implementing such measures, the management aims at mitigating the social impact for the affected employees by considering re-industrialization, re-employment help and a fair severance package.

We have dedicated teams focusing on Ethics and Compliance and Safety, Health and Environment while other topics such as Well-being and Diversity & Inclusion are included within the scope of local HR roles. ESRS S1 1-4 §43

ESRS 1-4 §38a, b, c, d ESRS 1-4\$40 a, b ESRS S1 1-4 §41

Targets to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities (S1-5)

Mental health

We are committed to supporting our employees and their families in making positive choices for their health and well-being. We want to ensure they have access to comprehensive support, empowering them to thrive personally and professionally. Therefore, Bekaert has an Employee Assistance Program in place. We want 100% of the employees in the Bekaert subsidiaries to have access to this employee assistance program. As of April 2024 we have reached this target. The program provides a wide range of support options, ensuring that the well-being of our employees is taken care of in every aspect of their life.

Learning & Development

We nurture talent through career development and life-long learning. We attach great importance to providing challenging career and personal development opportunities to our employees. Bekaert is committed to provide a minimum of 30 hours training on average per employee annually. In 2024, on average each employee received 37 hours of training.

The number of training hours and impact is monitored through the learning management system and local reporting lines and consolidated on a quarterly basis. Next to the compliance trainings portfolio, there are numerous learning opportunities where employees can develop new skills, gain knowledge, increase their awareness on various topics in online and classroom formats.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bekaert adopts a recruitment and promotion policy that aims to gradually generate more diversity, including gender diversity. This fits within the Diversity & Inclusion program of the company. We are committed to

increase this share in support of gender equality. Our target is to achieve a ratio of 40% by 2030⁷ . This target has also been added in the 2024 short-term incentives targets for the management and Executives. 29% of the managers and salaried professionals of the Bekaert subsidiaries are female (as per year-end 2024).

Health & Safety

Bekaert aims to create a no-harm, risk-free working environment for all our employees and for anyone working at or visiting our premises.

We track our performance against this aim through a central management system. Safety performance is part of our performance dashboard and is a fixed agenda topic during local and global town halls and in recurrent shop floor meetings.

ESRS S1-5 §47a, b, c

Our employees' data (S1-6)

Employee headcount by gender

Gender	Number of employees (head count)
Male	16 961
Female	2 740
Total employees	19 701

The category "other" and "not reported" are not applicable. ESRS S1-6 §50

Employee headcount in countries with at least 50 employees representing at least 10% of the total number of employees

Country	Number of employees (head count)
China	6 506
Slovakia	2 095

ESRS S1-6 §50

⁷ We will evaluate our ambition and targets as part of our next strategic planning cycle. We refer to the last paragraph of section SBM-1.

Employee headcount by gender and contract type, broken down by region

	EMEA	North America	Latin America	Asia Pacific	TOTAL
Number of employees (head count)	7 684	1 510	1 369	9 138	19 701
Male	6 152	1 305	1 171	8 333	16 961
Female	1 532	205	198	805	2 740
Number of permanent employees (head count)	7 488	1 509	1 365	7 369	17 731
Male	6 007	1 304	1 168	6 872	15 351
Female	1 481	205	197	497	2 380
Number of temporary employees (head count)	196	1	4	1 769	1 970
Male	146	1	3	1 461	1 611
Female	50	0	1	308	359
Number of non-guaranteed hours employees (head count)	0	0	0	0	0
Male	0	0	0	0	0
Female	0	0	0	0	0
Number of full-time employees (head count)	7 454	1 503	1 369	9 130	19 456
Male	6 014	1 303	1 171	8 331	16 819
Female	1 440	200	198	799	2 637
Number of part-time employees (head count)	230	7	0	8	245
Male	138	2	0	2	142
Female	92	5	0	6	103
ESRS S1-6 §50a, b, b ii, b iii

Region - Employees at 31 December 2024 EMEA North America Latin America Asia Pacific TOTAL Blue Collars 5 481 1 110 888 6 935 14 414 Male 4 633 1 036 852 6 688 13 209 Female 848 74 36 247 1 205 Salaried professionals 1 382 248 404 1 581 3 615 Male 888 157 261 1 172 2 478 Female 494 91 143 409 1 137 Management 821 152 77 622 1 672 Male 631 112 58 473 1 274 Female 190 40 19 149 398 Total Male 6 152 1 305 1 171 8 333 16 961 Total Female 1 532 205 198 805 2 740 Grand total 7 684 1 510 1 369 9 138 19 701

Countries with > 1000 employees 2024 (excluding non
employees)	China	Slovakia	Belgium	US	Indonesia
Blue Collars	5 147	1 610	775	1 115	971
Male	4 947	1 262	681	1 041	966
Female	200	348	94	74	5
Salaried professionals	969	391	393	248	153
Male	677	217	264	158	133
Female	292	174	129	90	20
Management	390	94	422	145	33
Male	277	72	322	107	31
Female	113	22	100	38	3
Total Male	5 901	1 551	1 267	1 306	1 130
Total Female	605	544	323	202	28
Grand total	6 506	2 095	1 590	1 508	1 158

ESRS S1-6 §50a, S1-6 §51 (VOLUNTARY)

90% of people employed by Bekaert have a permanent contract (= contract of indefinite duration), 10% has a temporary contract (= contract of definite duration). Employees with a temporary contract are on the payroll of Bekaert but they have a contract with an end date stipulated in it.

99% of the Bekaert employees work full-time. ESRS S1-6 §52a, b (VOLUNTARY)

Turnover

Bekaert consolidated entities excluding employees with a contract of definite duration and excluding collective dismissals:

Employee turnover in 2024	Total	Male	Female
turnover (number) taking into account voluntary leave	773	639	134
turnover (number) taking into account all personnel exits (voluntary leave – dismissal – retirement – death in service)	1 433	1 211	222
turnover (%) taking into account voluntary leave	4%	4%	6%
turnover (%) taking into account all personnel exits (voluntary leave – dismissal – retirement –death in service)	8%	8%	9%

ESRS S1-6 §50c

We collect, store and maintain all of our workforce records in the central HR system and use business intelligence tooling for analysis, data quality and fluctuation identification. Our internal reports cover both data in headcount (the number of people in our workforce) and in FTE (Full-Time Equivalent: number of contractual hours divided by the maximum contractual hours in a full-time schedule). ESRS S1-6 §50d, di, dii, ESRS S1-7 55b

A cross-reference to the number of full-time equivalent is disclosed in section "Segment Reporting" of the Financial Statements on page 89. ESRS S1-6 §50f

Non-employees' data (S1-7)

Non-employees - 31 December 2024	EMEA	North America	Latin America	Asia Pacific	TOTAL
Blue Collars	114	5	25	864	1 008
Male	76	5	23	760	864
Female	38	0	2	104	144
Salaried professionals	31	4	5	29	69
Male	17	2	5	10	34
Female	14	2	0	19	35
Management	14	0	0	3	17
Male	12	0	0	0	12
Female	2	0	0	3	5
Total Male	105	7	28	770	910
Total Female	54	2	2	126	184
Grand total	159	9	30	896	1 094

ESRS S1-7 §55a, b i, b ii

Non-employees are workers who are not on our payroll, but who complement our employee workforce. They provide temporary services mostly through agencies or consulting firms.

99% of the non-employees work full-time. ESRS S1-7 §56

Diversity metrics (S1-9)

Gender diversity top management

Gender diversity in the Board of Directors and in the Leadership Team of Bekaert:

Gender diversity Top management 31 December 2024	# People	% Male	% Female
Board of Directors	9	56%	44%
Bekaert Group Executive (BGE)	9	78%	22%
Senior Vice Presidents (B16-B18)	14	93%	7%
Next leadership level (B13-B15)	76	75%	25%
Total leadership team	108	78%	22%

ESRS S1-9 §66a, AR71

Age diversity

Age diversity employees 31 December 2024	% Under 30 years old	% 30-50 Years old	% Over 50 years old
Blue collars	13%	70%	16%
Salaried professionals	10%	69%	21%
Management	3%	67%	31%
Total Bekaert employees	12%	70%	18%

ESRS S1-9 §66b

Social protection (S1-11)

We offer competitive salaries and benefits designed to enhance the financial, physical and overall well-being of our employees and their families. Our offerings differ from country to country and are often adapted to local social security policies. We provide a wide range of employee benefits that may include retirement benefits, healthcare plans, service awards, labor accident disability coverage and paid leave. For detailed information on employee benefits, we refer to the Financial Statements section 6.16. ESRS S1-11 §74a, b, c, d, e

Benefits provided to payroll employees in significant locations of operation

Benefit	Belgium	China	Indonesia	Slovakia	US
Life insurance	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Health care	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Disability coverage	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Parental leave	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Retirement provision	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Stock ownership	No	No	No	No	No

These benefits are applicable to (payroll) employees – not to non-employees.

Significant locations are locations with > 1 000 employees on the payroll (part-time, full-time, definite, indefinite).

Training and skills development metrics (S1-13)

Performance reviews

To stimulate high performance, commitment, and the continuous development of all employees, the group targets are deployed into team and personal targets for everyone.

Bekaert has developed and deployed a People Performance Management (PPM) program. PPM is our way of looking at people performance and how we can better achieve our goals in the future. As such, PPM is part of a larger effort to be a performance-driven organization.

The performance management process includes two-way personal development reviews, transparency, feedforward and leadership behavior.

Enablers for the people performance management practice are a clear alignment of team and individual goals with business priorities; frequent performance steering and coaching; fair recognition in line with the achieved performance; and better supporting tools that allow employees to keep track of their performance and feedforward actions throughout the year.

Percentage of employees who received a performance review in 2024

Employee category	Percentage
Managers	98%
Male	98%
Female	98%
Salaried professionals	98%
Male	98%
Female	97%

Operators do not follow the People Performance Process that applies to our salaried professionals. Operators discuss performance on a very frequent basis, in local meetings. Those local meetings are team sessions to find opportunities for quality, safety and process improvements, and one-on-one meetings between operators and their shift leaders about personal performance and behavior. ESRS S1-13 §83a, ESRS S1-13 §84

Learning & Development

On average, each employee received 37 hours of training in 2024 of which 34 for female employees and 37 for male employees, well above our target.

Average hours of training per employee per region	2022			2023		2024
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
EMEA
Blue collars	41	32	57	36	53	42
Salaried professionals	37	26	32	30	20	21
Management	18	22	29	44	32	33
Latin America
Blue collars	72	105	75	52	56	95
Salaried professionals	28	33	51	51	40	39
Management	42	33	49	86	35	44
North America
Blue collars	71	100	20	21	27	26
Salaried professionals	7	6	19	16	34	27
Management	14	11	23	22	36	51
Asia Pacific
Blue collars	23	29	36	63	32	47
Salaried professionals	25	22	28	25	28	21
Management	25	22	33	34	31	32

ESRS S1-13 §83b

On average, each employee received 4 hours of mandatory training in 2024.

On average each employee received 11 hours of safety training in 2024.

On average each employee received 1 hour of well-being training in 2024.

Health & Safety metrics (S1-14)

2024 data for safety-related key performance indicators showed a decrease in LTIFR (-3.7), SI rate (-33.3) and in TRIR (-0.5) The number of serious incidents leading to life-altering injuries reduced from nine in 2023 to six in 2024. All of these were related to hand and finger injuries. Bekaert is reinforcing its safety program through

awareness campaigns, training, performance evaluations and dedicated investments to secure safe working conditions for all people.

TRIR: Total Recordable Incident Rate (all recorded incidents per million worked hours) LTIFR: Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (Number of lost time incidents per million worked hours) SI: Serious Injury (incident leading to life-altering injuries) The safety data we report include both Bekaert employees and contractors on our sites, in consolidated entities as well as in joint ventures.

Safety champions

In 2024, 13 plants achieved 1 year without any recordable safety incidents. 6 plants were 2 years incident-free. 2 plants achieved 5 years without recordable safety incidents, and 2 plants have been incident-free for 10 or more years. They are Bekaert's safety champions and lead the way toward a no-harm, risk-free working environment for all.

In 2024 Bekaert expanded, as intended, its certifications against international management system standards for safety. Bekaert has a corporate integrated management system. This centrally governed management system is the basis of ISO 45001 certification (safety) of 35 sites (51% of the manufacturing plants). ESRS S1-14 §88a

No fatal work-related accidents occurred on our premises in 2024 (employees, non-employees, or subcontractors). Hence the number of days lost to fatalities was zero

No fatal accidents occurred on the way to and from work in 2024. ESRS S1-14 §88b, e

In 2024, we had 251 recordable work-related accidents (including joint ventures (JVs)). The number of lost days resulting from work-related injuries incurred in 2024 was 5 668 days (including JVs) . ESRS S1-14 §88c, e, ESRS S1-14 §89

Key safety performance indicators Bekaert own-workforce (consolidated entities) + on-site non-own workforce	2022	2023	2024
TRIR	3.88	4.84	4.62
LTIFR	2.46	3.01	2.91
SI rate	0.12	0.14	0.08

Key safety performance indicators Bekaert own-workforce (combined entities (= consolidated entities + joint ventures)) + on-site non-own
workforce	2022	2023	2024
TRIR	3.40	4.29	4.27
LTIFR	2.09	2.67	2.57
SI rate	0.10	0.15	0.10

ESRS S1-14 §88c

Incident rates per gender

Group data by gender (own workforce)			Female
	2022	2023	2024	2022	2023	2024
LTIFR1	2.36	3.08	2.76	2.31	3.33	3.75
SI rate2	0.07	0.17	0.15	0.17	0.00	0.00
TRIR3	3.97	4.91	4.72	3.49	4.73	4.77

¹ LTIFR: Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate: number of lost time incidents per million worked hours.

² SI rate: real Serious Injuries per million worked hours.

³ TRIR: Total Recordable Incident Rate: all recorded incidents per million worked hours.

Incident rates per region

Group data per region 2022	EMEA	Latin America	North America	Asia Pacific	JVs	Bekaert Consolidated	Bekaert Combined
LTIFR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	5.74	2.17	1.59	0.82	0.00	2.46	2.09
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	5.98	1.57	1.79	0.93	0.00	2.76	2.39

On-site non-own workforce	3.72	4.08	0.00	0.52	0.00	1.31	1.05
SI rate1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	0.13	0.48	0.27	0.04	0.00	0.12	0.10
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	0.14	0.63	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.10	0.08
On-site non-own workforce	0.00	0.00	2.46	0.13	0.00	0.19	0.15
TRIR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	7.04	3.37	11.68	1.17	0.66	3.88	3.40
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	7.35	3.15	11.90	1.32	0.93	4.38	3.91
On-site non-own workforce	4.34	4.08	9.83	0.78	0.00	1.97	1.57

					JVs in
Group data per region 2023	EMEA	Latin America	North America	Asia Pacific	Brazil and Colombia	Bekaert Consolidated	Bekaert Combined
LTIFR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	7.80	3.75	3.19	0.55	0.60	3.01	2.67
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	8.10	4.74	3.46	0.52	0.51	3.49	3.11
On-site non-own workforce	5.07	0.96	0.00	0.63	0.79	1.22	1.14
SI rate1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	0.14	0.25	0.29	0.10	0.24	0.14	0.15
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	0.16	0.34	0.31	0.09	0.17	0.15	0.15
On-site non-own workforce	0.00	0	0	0.13	0.40	0.09	0.15
TRIR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	9.63	5.51	15.39	1.17	0.95	4.84	4.29
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	9.66	7.10	15.72	1.13	1.02	5.45	4.89
On-site non-own workforce	9.42	0.96	11.40	1.25	0.79	2.53	2.20

Group data per region 2024	EMEA	Latin America	North America	Asia Pacific	JVs in Brazil	Bekaert Consolidated	Bekaert Combined
LTIFR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	7.99	3.48	1.54	0.52	0.48	2.91	2.57
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	7.45	4.30	1.65	0.56	0.67	3.24	2.89
On-site non-own workforce	13.44	1.00	0	0.43	0	1.86	1.56
SI rate1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	0.28	0	0	0	0.24	0.08	0.10
Bekaert own workforce (employees + non-employees)	0.31	0	0	0	0.33	0.10	0.13
On-site non-own workforce	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TRIR1
All (Bekaert own workforce + on-site non-own workforce)	10.53	3.48	10.49	1.24	2.17	4.62	4.27
Bekaert own workforce employees + non-employees)	9.78	4.30	10.22	1.27	2.66	5.05	4.73
On-site non-own workforce	18.19	1.00	14.35	1.17	0.88	3.21	2.83

1 On-site non-own workforce: on-site external workers other than own workforce, such as outsourced service providers (e.g. catering, security), ad hoc services (e.g. garden maintenance, strategic consultants) and on site value chain workers (e.g. transport company, supplier of machines)

ESRS S1-14 §88c

Remuneration (S1-16)

While this sustainability matter is not material for Bekaert, we disclose below information for transparency reasons requested by customers, ratings and investors.

Representation of females in salary bands

The gender pay gap ratio covers pay gap for salaried and management professionals, and excludes blue collar workers.

• Blue collar wages are set in accordance with local collective labor agreements, in general they are driven by numbers of hours worked, experience and skills of the incumbent.
• Salary levels for salaried professional and managers are based on a job classification system allowing for internal benchmarking. Positions with similar scope, required knowledge, levels of accountability and leadership requirements are clustered in so-called salary bands.

The gender pay gap for salaried professionals and managers is monitored at two levels: at the level of representation and at the level of equal treatment.

The table below shows the representations of females across the different salary bands in the company, based on a job classification system.

Proportion of female employees per salary band

Broadband	% Female	% Male
Bekaert Group Executive	22%	78%
Senior Vice Presidents	7%	93%
Senior Management	25%	75%
Mid Level Management	19%	81%
Junior Management	25%	75%
Salaried Professionals	31%	69%
Total	29%	71%

ESRS S1-16 §97c

The table below shows the treatment of females across the different salary bands in terms of remuneration. Each employee's base pay (local currency) is compared to the midpoint base pay for their respective salary band (midpoint of salary band in local currency), resulting in a percentage of base pay to midpoint (% compa ratio). The median of the resulting female compa ratios to the median of male compa ratios are compared, and the difference is the pay gap %. Midpoint base salary of each salary band is set in reference with the competitive marketplace and relevant job classification level.

Region	Gender pay gap (%)
EMEA	-4.51 %
Latin America	-4.51 %
North America	-7.40 %
Asia Pacific	-5.35 %
Total	-3.85 %

The global Gender Pay Gap at Bekaert is -3.85%, with differences between countries and a significant number of countries without pay gap. This number is lower than the global, European and sector average. Overall, measures are in place to monitor and avoid this pay gap. ESRS S1-16 §97a

How we manage human rights impacts (S1-17)

While this sustainability matter is not material for Bekaert, we are committed to respect human rights. Therefore we disclose below information for transparency reasons.

Bekaert has a central case reporting and investigation management tool in place. The Speak Up channel, which allows all employees and third parties to report concerns or raise questions, is one of several communication vehicles for asking questions or raising concerns. The tool allows for confidential two-way communication between Group Ethics and Compliance and any anonymous reporter as well as with those who shared their identity in the issued report. Employees are encouraged to speak up and raise concerns by whichever method they feel most comfortable. They may alternatively reach out to their HR representative, to Group Legal, to Internal Audit or to their direct manager or supervisor. Our Investigation Protocol ensures the quality and consistency of our investigations and their respective reporting requirements.

All incoming reports are handled with the highest level of confidentiality. Each allegation is thoroughly investigated. Bekaert takes all necessary measures to protect employees against any form of retaliation when reporting a concern. Remedial measures were taken as necessary for those cases where improvement areas were revealed.

In 2024, 165 integrity allegations were reported and investigated through our integrity reporting channels. None of the allegations constituted a violation by Bekaert employees of integrity breaches related to discrimination, bribery, or corruption

ESRS S1-17 §103a, ESRS S1-17 §103b

There were no human right breaches reported to us connected to our own workforce. ESRS S1-17 §104a

S2 Workers in the value chain

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (S2 - SBM-3)

We have identified following material impacts, risks and opportunities related to workers in the value chain which are mainly linked to the industry we work in as well as the business environment we operate in:

Negative	Our upstream supply chain, primarily for our main raw material, can be a harsh working environment due to the type of
impact	business (metals), with industry-specific health and safety exposures.
Positive	We promote the respect of health, safety and human rights across the value chain, and with OECD guidelines by enforcing
impact	our supplier code of conduct and by the due diligence programs that we have in place.
Risk	As in many international companies, we might face reputational damage and liability exposure arising from supplier

controversies and non-compliance with evolving human rights due diligence regulations. Risk management is undertaken via our supplier due diligence, human rights and supplier code of conduct programs.

Our sustainable sourcing strategy and human rights programs aim to address those material topics. ESRS S2 SMB-3 §10

The workers in Bekaert's value chain that could be materially impacted by Bekaert's actions are subcontractors working on our premises, employees of our suppliers and indirect suppliers (upstream value chain), employees working in logistic activities in our downstream value chain and employees of joint ventures. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §11a i-v

Bekaert is committed to using raw materials of legal and sustainable origin. Bekaert refrains from sourcing minerals from conflict-affected countries as these pose a high risk to finance armed conflicts and enable human rights abuses. Bekaert also strictly avoids purchasing materials produced through child or forced labor. To achieve compliance with this commitment, Bekaert maintains due diligence processes and requests all relevant suppliers to fully cooperate in achieving this. More information on our Conflict Minerals Policy is available in section S2-1 on page 242. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §11b

Potential negative impact can relate to our upstream supply chain, mainly in sourcing our main raw materials. The metals sector is a sector where employees can be exposed to industry-specific Health & Safety risks. To maintain a localized supply chain for our global footprint, we may need to work with and develop suppliers in locations with higher inherent risk. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §11c

We focus on social supply and promotion of OECD guidelines for all our activities and operations.

Bekaert engages strategic suppliers, categorized as suppliers in the upper three segments of our supplier segmentation, in its sustainability agenda via EcoVadis, a well recognized platform that provides visibility on the sustainability performance including the areas for improvement. More information on supplier engagement is available in section S2-2 on page 244.

Strategic suppliers are also formally evaluated on a yearly basis, and corrective action plans are put in place when the minimum required levels by Bekaert have not been reached. These action plans are closely monitored to keep the focus on improvement high. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §11d

Based on our existing processes, we have not identified any material risks and opportunities arising from impacts and dependencies on value chain workers. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §11e

Our understanding of the value chain workers and how they could be exposed to greater risk of harm is based on our due diligence program which is disclosed in section S2-2 on page 242. ESRS S2 SBM-3 §12, ESRS S2 SBM-3 §13

Policies related to value chain workers (S2-1)

Human Rights policy and Supplier Code of Conduct

During 2024, Bekaert formalized its continued commitment to respect human rights: we developed and implemented the Human Rights Policy. Further information is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225 of this report. This policy is highly relevant for the way we engage with our upstream supply chain. ESRS S2-1 §16, ESRS S2-1 §17a, ESRS S2-1 §19

The Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct outlines environmental, social and governance requirements, that suppliers should comply with. Child and forced labor requirements are included. The Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct is applicable to all suppliers. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) oversees formulating the policy. The Central Procurement Department is responsible for ensuring this policy is implemented in the supply chain. It forms an integral part of Bekaert's supplier relationship management and evaluation procedure. It is available on our website in 15 languages. At the end of 2024 this supplier commitment represented 94% of our spend. ESRS S2-1 §16, ESRS S2-1 §17, ESRS S2-1 §18

Our approach to engage with supply chain workers is disclosed in section S2-2 on page 242. ESRS S2-1 §17b

We provide and enable remedy for human rights impacts on value chain workers through our Speak Up channel and our supply chain due diligence program. More information on our Speak Up channel is available in section S1-3 on page 227. More information on our supply chain due diligence program is disclosed in section S2-2 on page 242.

Responsible sourcing of minerals

Bekaert recognizes the importance of responsible sourcing. The Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing outlines our commitment and our actions and requirements toward suppliers. It is applicable to all suppliers delivering minerals potentially originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas to the Bekaert Group. The Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing is applicable to all wholly and majority owned subsidiaries of Bekaert. Joint ventures in which Bekaert has a minority shareholding are strongly encouraged to apply the procedure, which is available on our website. Roles and responsibilities are clearly described in the policy. Our available grievance mechanism is mentioned in the policy. ESRS S2-1 §16, ESRS S2-1 §17a, c, ESRS S2-1 §19

In 2024, all suppliers covered by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) signed the Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct (or delivered proof of following its principles), 100% signed the Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing, and 100% of our tin and tungsten suppliers completed a Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT), sharing details on the smelters used upstream. This is a critical topic given that this group of suppliers are at a high risk of child and/or forced labor. RMI is an initiative of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSi), which helps companies from a range of industries to address conflict mineral issues in their supply chain. ESRS S2-1 §19

How we engage with value chain workers (S2-2)

Bekaert manages supply chain sustainability through a tiered approach which is aligned with our Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) framework. Supply chain due diligence is applicable to all direct suppliers, including adherence to policies and risk assessment. Sustainability performance management is enacted with strategic suppliers and joint innovation/co-development projects are initiated with our partners. Through this approach we broadly limit and manage negative impacts, whilst driving positive impacts through targeted initiatives.

Supply chain due diligence

Since 2023 the procurement department implemented an improved upstream supply chain sustainability due diligence process, to ensure that the conduct of potential and existing suppliers is aligned with our values. Our robust process evaluates, prioritizes and mitigates upstream supply chain risks related to Environmental, Social and Governance factors. The Chief Operating Officer has operational responsibility for ensuring that engagement takes place and that the outcome drives our purchasing approach.

The process begins with a broad screening and monitoring of all Bekaert's new and existing direct suppliers. The current solution focuses on identifying actual data points for each supplier legal entity, determining where there are evidenced risks which require additional investigation. The suppliers we engage are prioritized based on a combination of the risks identified and the dependency in the relationship between our two companies. Adding dependency as a factor ensures that we focus our efforts both where the impact to Bekaert and our end customers is highest and where we have the ability to effect meaningful change in our suppliers' operations. The mitigation actions applied are tailored to the specific risk, following risk validation, suppliers will typically be invited to complete either an Ecovadis assessment or SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) questionnaire.

Based on the outcome of these self-assessments, detailed action plans are developed together with the supplier or on-site audits are planned where relevant. Alongside verification of the completion of individual actions, we are also able to see how the ESG risk of the supplier develops through continuous monitoring.

Our approach focuses primarily on identifying directly evidenced risks for individual suppliers, hence whilst there are areas with heightened inherent risk, we evaluate each supplier individually. In case a tangible risk is identified with a high likelihood of relevance for other suppliers in the same geography or industry, we initiate a targeted assessment with the broader group.

A large proportion of information we gather from the supply chain for risk assessment is either via official supplier communication channels, adverse media or externally available structured datasets. The two primary ways we engage directly with value chain workers is through our Speak Up channel and via on-site audits (2nd & 3 rd party).

In the 2nd half of 2024, we conducted a thorough review of our existing due diligence process to evaluate the efficacy and compare with current state of industry best practices. This review included an assessment of false positive results, sample checks for suppliers identified as low risk, as well as topics and geographies covered. Following this we initiated a market solution screening to compare our results with other solutions now available. As anticipated, the market for supply chain sustainability risk solutions has advanced significantly over the past years and we were able to identify a new solution to further improve the effectiveness of our due diligence. At the end of 2024 we began implementation of the new solution which will bring the following key benefits: full data coverage through inherent risk analysis, targeted deeper AI analysis for higher risk suppliers, automated tier-N mapping and risk assessment for selected high risk supply chains, integrated action management, combination of other supply chain risk factors into a single holistic supply chain risk platform.

Supplier Engagement

Bekaert engages strategic suppliers in its sustainability agenda via EcoVadis. Strategic suppliers are the Partners, Preferred and Monitored segments of Bekaert's supplier relationship management framework. This group covers all suppliers with significant commercial or other business impact, incorporating factors such as portion of category spend, the criticality of the materials or services provided, supplier risk exposure and collaboration level. Strategic suppliers are expected to reach an EcoVadis score above 45 based on an assessment completed within the past 3 years. 51% of our 2024 strategic supplier spend was with suppliers meeting these expectations, representing a 10% improvement since 2023. Theplatform provides visibility on the sustainability performance of our important suppliers and on the areas for improvement. EcoVadis assessments are embedded into our procurement processes. EcoVadis rating information is requested during new supplier onboarding via our digital procurement platform – eBuy. Assessment results are considered in the annual evaluation of supplier performance and assessment levels are incorporated into our Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) framework, being a key enabler for improved collaboration with potential and existing preferred suppliers and partners.

We have a global approach focusing on the specific regional and industry vulnerabilities of suppliers identified as high risk. For example, if a supplier is identified as having a risk related to labor rights and we invite them to complete a SEDEX Self-Assessment Questionnaire, we will evaluate the result and determine corresponding actions by comparing the inherent and site characteristic risks with the level of management controls that the supplier has declared. SEDEX is a leading platform for supply chain sustainability data sharing, in preparation of third party on-site supplier audits according to the SMETA⁸ framework.

ESRS S2-2 §22a-e, ESRS S2-2 §23

Our processes to remediate negative impacts and raise concerns (S2-3)

The Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct outlines environmental, social and governance requirements, that suppliers should comply with. Child and forced labor requirements are included. The Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct is applicable to all suppliers. More information is available in section S2-1 on page 242 of this report.

Bekaert has a central Speak Up reporting tool, widely available for everyone to file a concern. All individuals, including workers along Bekaert's value chain, are able and encouraged to raise their integrity concerns and/or grievances via the Speak Up tool. More information is available in section S1-3 on page 227 of this report. ESRS S2-3 §27 a-d, ESRS S2-3 §28

Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to value chain workers (S2-4)

Bekaert has a robust process for evaluating, prioritizing and mitigating upstream supply chain risks related to Environmental, Social and Governance factors. More information on this process is disclosed in section S2-2 on page 242 of this report.

Bekaert's central procurement department is responsible for upstream supply chain due diligence, including taking action on material impacts on value chain workers. The procurement center of excellence (COE) is the owner of the supply chain due diligence process, undertaking risk identification and coordinating the overall process. Where necessary, the relevant supplier manager, based upon the category, segment and region of the supplier is responsible to take actions together with the supplier to mitigate identified risks or impacts. Supplier managers can be local buyers or part of global category management teams. Group compliance and the central sustainability team are consulted as and where needed.

ESRS S2-4 §32a-d, ESRS S2-4 §33a-c, ESRS S2-4 §34a, b, ESRS S2-4 §35, ESRS S2-4 §36, ESRS S2-4 §38

Supplier audits

Bekaert annually drafts an audit planning for supplier audits. We conducted 104 supplier audits in 2024 compared to 74 in 2023. Supplier audits are scheduled and prioritized based on quality assurance, changes to or expansions of critical supplier processes, and risk of not meeting the applicable target criteria.

Concluding Key Supplier Agreements remains very important for the purchase of wire rod and other supply categories as they enable us to build effective partnerships in which sustainability, supply chain integration, and innovation are explicit building blocks.

At the end of June 2024, Bekaert organized an online event to share and discuss the details of our sustainability requirements for wire rod suppliers. The aim was to enhance our suppliers' understanding and speed of implementation of sustainable practices. We discussed the need and practicalities surrounding certified CO2e emissions intensity. Additionally, an in-depth explanation of the relevant standards and how Bekaert expects them to be applied within our industry context was presented. Two sessions were conducted to maximize participation and engagement. We invited 42 steel suppliers, with a commendable attendance of 30 participants across both sessions, reflecting the high level of commitment to sustainability within our supply chain. This event is a part of Bekaert's ongoing efforts to engage and collaborate with our suppliers, expanding the scope from previous years and ensuring that sustainability is deeply embedded within procurement.

⁸ SMETA (SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit) is the proprietary auditing framework of SEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) and is considered a leading supply chain sustainability audit methodology.

Targets to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities (S2-5)

We expect our suppliers to join our sustainability journey by:

• adhering to the Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct
• leading in ESG ratings (obtain a minimum score of 45 for Ecovadis)
• complying with the Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals sourcing

We aim for 100% of our spend to be with suppliers who sign off our Supplier Code of Conduct by 2030. In 2024, this commitment represented 94% of our spend.⁹

We expect 100% of our strategic suppliers to lead in ESG ratings by 2030⁹ . We ask our strategic suppliers to be transparent on sustainability by joining Ecovadis and achieving a minimum score of 45. Suppliers scoring below 45 must provide an action plan which we monitor via the Ecovadis platform. 51% of our 2024 strategic supplier spend was with suppliers meeting these expectations, representing a 10% improvement since 2023.

We require our suppliers to provide components, parts or materials containing tantalum, tin, tungsten, gold, cobalt and/or natural mica from conflict and child and forced labor free sources only. We engage with suppliers that respond in a timely manner to our requests for evidence of compliance and that allow their due diligence practices and relevant company records to be audited. We require our suppliers to complete the latest version of the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) and Extended Mineral reporting Template (EMRT) created by the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), sharing details on the smelters used upstream. In 2024, all covered suppliers complied with these requirements. We require all suppliers covered by the RMI to sign the Bekaert Supplier Code of Conduct (or deliver proof of following its principles) and to sign the Bekaert Policy on Responsible Minerals Sourcing.)

ESRS S2-5 §41, ESRS S2-5 §42a-c

⁹ We will evaluate our ambition and targets as part of our next strategic planning cycle. We refer to the last paragraph of section SBM-1.

S4 Consumers & end-users

Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model (S4 - SBM-3)

Protecting and securing data and privacy is part of our strategy as to avoid negative impact on end-users and customers. For dedicated businesses and products, Bekaert offers online customer engagement and sales platforms. Bekaert values the data security and data privacy of its internal and external stakeholders globally.

The only identified potential material risk relates to cyber threats impacting the security of our data assets and the operating processes of our company:

Risk A cyber-attack might lead to operational and financial impact, data breaches or safety issues. We have robust cyber-attack prevention and data privacy programs in place.

There are no particular end-users and customers groups which may be at greater risk of harm. ESRS S4 SBM-3 §9, §10a i-iv, §10d, §11

More information on material risks and opportunities for our business arising from impacts and dependencies on consumers and/or end-users are described in section IRO-1 Double Materiality Assessment process on page 182.

ESRS S4 SBM-3 §12

Policies related to consumers and end-users (S4-1)

Code of conduct

The Bekaert Code of Conduct describes how we put our Bekaert values into practice and which leadership principles or behaviors we expect from every Bekaert employee. Our Code of Conduct covers, among other elements, key areas regarding data privacy protection and cyber security principles in the workplace and in doing business. The Bekaert Code of Conduct was approved by the Board of Directors. More information on Bekaert's Code of Conduct is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225 of this report.

Data privacy

Bekaert values the privacy of each individual globally.

The privacy rights of individuals are protected through comprehensive data privacy policies, processes, and a governance structure that is built around a dedicated data privacy office. This data privacy office is headed by the Global Data Privacy Officer, who manages data privacy operations with support from the global privacy manager, and department-level privacy champions based in several regions and countries.

Any individual can submit data subject rights requests to our privacy office through multiple channels such as a dedicated privacy e-mailbox, our Speak Up reporting channel and the information security incident reporting channel.

The following Bekaert policies provide adequate information on how we process personal information and protect privacy of individuals:

• 1. Bekaert's Personal Data Privacy policy provides transparent information on personal information processing operations including what information is being collected, the purpose and legal base of processing, sharing of information within the Bekaert Group and third parties, international data transfers, privacy rights and how to exercise these rights.
• 1. The Personal Data Breach Notification procedure describes the step-by-step process of handling personal data breach incidents and the reporting to the concerned authority and data subject.
• 1. The Data subject request procedure provides an overview on how a request will be responded by Bekaert's privacy office and escalation matrix.

These policies have been approved by the Chief Digital and Information Officer. ESRS S4-1 §15

Data security

Bekaert has implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity program that adheres to top industry standards like ISO 27001, NIST CSF, IEC 62443, and COBIT (Control Objectives for Information Technologies). Bekaert has a designated Head of Cybersecurity (Chief Information Security Officer) and a dedicated corporate cybersecurity team to implement and manage its cybersecurity program. This Information security management program ensures compliance with legal, regulatory, and contractual requirements, safeguarding intellectual property, trade secrets, and employee data. It ensures appropriate data access, protects customer information, and builds trust among customers, partners, and stakeholders by demonstrating a strong commitment to security. Additionally, it supports the creation of secure and sustainable products and services.The cybersecurity policies, such as the Cyber Resiliency Policy, Data Classification Policy, incident management, Password Policy, and Identity & Access Management Policy are approved by the Chief Digital and Information Officer and are applicable to all our employees.They are aligned with business objectives to enhance security across the organization. All policies are available on the Bekaert intranet. ESRS S4-1 §17

Human right commitments

During 2024, Bekaert formalized its continued commitment to respect human rights: we developed and implemented the Human Rights Policy. Further information is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225 of this report.

ESRS S4-1 §16 a-c

There were no human rights breaches identified connected to consumers and end-users. ESRS S4-1 §17

Processes to engage with consumers and end-users (S4-2)

Data privacy and security

Bekaert has published privacy notices for external stakeholders covering processing details and how to contact the Data Protection Office of Bekaert for exercising their rights and/or raising privacy related questions and concerns. The data subject rights management process starts with the validation of the external individual and/ or any authorized representative(s) to make sure that only a legitimate requestor is provided with the requested information.

Next to the regular customer engagement channels, there are no specific data privacy and/or security related engagement processes in place.

Bekaert has implemented digital channels (internally via Solve, our Bekaert service portal and externally via the Bekaert website) to report any security concerns, risks, incidents and vulnerabilities. Dedicated teams and processes are in place to handle such events on a 24/7 basis. The data privacy breach notification process clearly defines the steps involved in the breach forensics and reporting process.

ESRS S4-2 §20, §21

Processes to remediate negative impacts and raise concerns (S4-3)

Data breach communication channels

Bekaert has established a robust data privacy incident management process covering breach forensic, risk assessment, regulatory reporting and remediation processes.

There are multiple channels through which a breach incident can be reported to the data privacy office such as a dedicated privacy e-mailbox, the Speak Up reporting channel and the information security incident reporting channel.

The incident management process starts with a preliminary risk and impact investigation and regulatory reporting analysis. Every breach incident is escalated to the information security team for security assessment and remediation planning.

The breach incident reports are kept under a central reporting mechanism which is then summarized for governance meetings. Each incident and its remediation actions are tracked up until closure.

The data privacy office implemented a data privacy technology solution for systematic assessments, response collection, risk categorization, remediation planning and observation closure. ESRS S4-3 §25d, ESRS S4-3 §26

Data security management

Bekaert has 24/7 detection and response services for Incident Management. We have a dedicated Incident Management team to detect, monitor, respond and recover from any cyber security incidents. Bekaert has a well defined Cyber Crisis Management plan with proper roles and responsibilities defined and documented. Senior Management and other necessary stakeholders are trained periodically on the Crisis Management process.

Bekaert has implemented a robust data security program designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its data. The program focuses on safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access, loss, corruption, and security threats. It ensures compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements while mitigating risks through comprehensive policies, procedures, and controls. Key measures include data classification, secure data handling practices, encryption, access management, employee training on security best practices, and a proactive approach to rapid response in the event of a data breach. ESRS S4-3 §25a, c

Other channels to raise concerns

Bekaert has a central Speak Up reporting tool. All individuals, such as employees and external stakeholders including members of local communities and workers along Bekaert's value chain are able and encouraged to raise their integrity concerns and/or grievances via the Speak Up tool. More information is available in section S1-3 on page 227 of this report.

ESRS S4-3 §25b

Our actions to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities related to consumers and end-users (S4-4)

Data privacy

The data privacy office has a dedicated budget for training and awareness sessions which includes bi-annual elearning programs, awareness training for the information security team including its external members, personalized training and risk-based training.

The training and awareness initiatives are planned with primary focus on data privacy awareness needs of internal and external stakeholders.

Bekaert's Data Privacy program is well established covering 4 major pillars - Governance and Culture; Educate; Examine and Enforce. The program level progress is tracked through established KPIs. These are:

• keeping track on regulatory changes to maintain the program up-to-date;
• a system-based approach on privacy operations;
• strong incident management and reporting process; and
• enhanced privacy awareness.

Additionally, the data privacy office has a dedicated resource who is responsible for managing the program level activities with involvement of global, regional and department level stakeholders by leveraging robust privacy automation technology.

Securing our digital assets

Information security – securing our company's and customers' data, assets, and privacy – is critical, especially with many of our team members working remotely. Our employees are our strongest link, and the most effective protection is their awareness of information security risks and cyber threats. Our Information Security Rules explain the actions we can take to defend against cybercriminals and ensure that our information remains protected.

Bekaert has an annual cybersecurity training and awareness program in place to ensure all stakeholders stay informed and proactive in maintaining robust cybersecurity practices. Managed by the Corporate Cybersecurity team, the program leverages multiple communication channels to share critical information. In addition, quarterly phishing awareness training and simulations are conducted for all employees and non-employees, with results tracked through a dedicated solution. The goal of this program is to educate individuals on the importance of protecting organizational data, recognizing security risks like phishing, malware, and social engineering, and promoting best security practices. It ensures compliance with policies and regulations, reduces human error, and fosters a culture of security awareness, helping to mitigate risks and protect sensitive information across the organization.

ESRS S4-4 §31, 32, 33, 34, 37

There were no human rights breaches identified connected to consumers and end-users. ESRS S4-4 §35

Targets to manage material impacts, risks and opportunities (S4-5)

Bekaert has no external targets related to data privacy and security other than the transparent visibility of data processing details for external stakeholders.

The data privacy office has established internal time bound and outcome based KPIs to ensure compliance with industry best practice standards and applicable laws globally. The established KPIs are tracked periodically through global governance meetings. The privacy KPIs are focusing on

• regulatory changes in major privacy laws;
• robust and timely incident management process;
• initiatives to enhance continuous privacy awareness, and;
• utilization of industry best privacy solutions for managing privacy operations and privacy records.

In addition, there are internal targets to improve Bekaert's data security maturity level year-on-year with milestones and progress tracking.

ESRS S4-5 §38, §41

Governance

G1 Business Conduct

The role of the Board of Directors (G1 - GOV-1)

The information about the role of the Board of Directors is disclosed in section 2 Governance / GOV 1 on page 175 of this report. ESRS G1 GOV 1 §5a, b

Business conduct policies and corporate culture (G1-1)

Our policies

In December 2023 Bekaert issued its new Code of Conduct which was approved by the Board. The updated Code reflects our revitalized values, ambition, purpose, our new brand identity, and covers new and updated risk areas and topics such as sustainability, antitrust, diversity, and inclusion. More information on the Bekaert Code of Conduct is disclosed in section S1-1 on page 225 and in section S1-4 on page 228.

Bekaert has an Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy that applies to all Bekaert employees as well as to those representing Bekaert. It describes the principles we require everyone to comply with to operate with the highest standards of business ethics and legal compliance. The policy has been approved by the Bekaert Group Executive and is available on our website.

Bekaert has a supplier Code of Conduct that outlines the principles that all suppliers are required to follow. More information is disclosed in section S2-1 on page 242.

ESRS G1-1 §7

Our actions

Integrity as core driver of business conduct

Bekaert provides extensive compliance trainings to employees on a number of key topics including but not limited to anti-bribery and -corruption, antitrust, data privacy, compliance awareness, conflict of interest, speak up culture and trade compliance (economic sanctions). Bekaert's training program includes a combination of classroom style/live training and online training modules. We use a risk-based approach and tailor training to selected groups of employees based on the risks associated with their role. Bekaert modifies its training plan throughout the year to address compliance trends and lessons learned from internal investigations.

In 2024, we re-deployed a mandatory anti-bribery and anti-corruption course to all managers at Bekaert and to salaried professionals employed in departments that have frequent contacts with third parties. All managers and employees in higher risk countries also completed a new eLearning on Conflict of Interest. A dedicated training on anti-trust was assigned to and completed by a specific target audience of managers, based on Hay classification level and function. Regional compliance e-training was also deployed on the topics of antiharassment.

Live training on selected Compliance risks and policies are also provided to specific functional groups. In addition, the Group Internal Audit department regularly audits adherence to the respective policies and procedures and recommends corrective actions where necessary. All policies are available on the Bekaert Intranet.

ESRS G1-1§9, §10g, h

Communicating with and engaging our employees on business culture

Bekaert's CEO and other senior leaders regularly communicate with employees about the importance of compliance. Through town hall meetings, staff meetings, messages cascaded through their direct reports, and in e-mail communications to employees, senior leadership emphasizes the importance of integrity and compliance and every employee's responsibility to do the right thing.

The Global and Local Town Halls are organized on a quarterly basis.

Bekaert conducts a global employee engagement survey annually to gauge employee engagement across all levels and locations of the organization. This survey measures, amongst others, ethics within the various departments within the organization.

More information on the Town Halls and on the engagement survey is disclosed in S1-2 on page 226.

ESRS G1-§1§9

In 2024, Bekaert continued to promote the central Speak Up reporting tool. All individuals, such as employees and external stakeholders including members of local communities and workers along Bekaert's value chain are able and encouraged to raise their integrity concerns and/or grievances via the Speak Up tool. More information on our Speak Up tool is disclosed in section S1-3 on page 227.

Our Investigation Protocol ensures the quality and consistency of our investigations and internal reporting requirement related to concerns raised. Bekaert takes all necessary measures to protect employees against any form of retaliation when reporting a concern. More information on our Investigation Protocol is disclosed in section S1-3 on page 228.

ESRS G1-1 §10 a, c, e

Prevention and detection of corruption and bribery (G1-3)

While this sustainability matter is not material for Bekaert, we disclose below information for transparency reasons requested by customers, ratings and investors.

Bekaert provides extensive compliance trainings to employees on a number of key topics including but not limited to anti-bribery and -corruption, antitrust, data privacy, compliance awareness, speak up culture and trade compliance (economic sanctions). 100% of the functions at risk are in scope for the mandatory eLearnings; eg. General Management, Finance, Procurement, Sales, Supply Chain, Plant Maintenance. Bekaert's training program includes a combination of classroom style/live training and online training modules. We use a risk-based approach and tailor training to selected groups of employees based on the risks associated with their role. Bekaert modifies its training plan throughout the year to address compliance trends and lessons learned from internal investigations.

We have a mandatory anti-bribery and anti-corruption course in place that all managers at Bekaert and salaried professionals employed in departments that have frequent contacts with third parties must follow. More information on this and other business conduct trainings is disclosed in section G1-1 on page 250.

ESRS G1-3 §18a, §21a, b

Bekaert's commitment to integrity, ethics and compliance starts with its Board of Directors (Board) and the Bekaert Group Executive (BGE). The Board's Audit, Risk and Finance Committee (ARFC) receives quarterly reviews of Bekaert's compliance program in relation to the Code of Conduct. Higher risk substantiated cases are reported to the Audit, Risk and Finance Committee. High risk and medium risk cases, which were found substantiated are reported to Compliance Committee that is composed of dedicated members of the Bekaert Group Executive, on quarterly basis. ESRS G1-3 §18b, c

Bekaert's CEO and other senior leaders regularly communicate with employees about the importance of compliance. Through town hall meetings, staff meetings, messages cascaded through their direct reports, and in e-mail communications to employees, senior leadership emphasizes the importance of integrity and compliance and every employee's responsibility to do the right thing. ESRS G1-3 §20

Incidents of corruption or bribery (G1-4)

While this sustainability matter is not material for Bekaert, we disclose below information for transparency reasons requested by customers, ratings and investors.

In 2023, Bekaert implemented a new central case reporting and investigation management tool. The tool, which allows all employees and also third parties to report concerns or raise questions, is one of several communication vehicles for asking questions or raising concerns. The tool allows for confidential two-way communication between Group Ethics and Compliance and any anonymous reporter as well as with those who shared their identity in the issued report. Employees are encouraged to speak up and raise concerns by whichever method they feel most comfortable. They may alternatively reach out to their HR representative, to Group Legal or Group Ethics and Compliance, to Internal Audit or to their direct manager or supervisor. Our Investigation Protocol ensures the quality and consistency of our investigations and their respective reporting requirements.

In 2024, 165 integrity allegations were reported through our integrity reporting channels. None of the allegations constituted a violation by Bekaert employees of integrity breaches related to discrimination, bribery, or corruption. Each allegation was thoroughly investigated. Remedial measures were taken as necessary for all substantiated cases and for those cases where improvement areas were revealed. All incoming reports are handled with the highest level of confidentiality. Bekaert takes all necessary measures to protect employees against any form of retaliation when reporting a concern. ESRS G1-4 §24a, 25a

Content Index

Based on the outcome of the double materiality exercise and according to the corresponding ESRS standards, Bekaert reports on the following disclosure requirements:

ESRS 2 General disclosures
BP-1 General basis for preparation of the sustainability statements	173
BP-2 Disclosures in relation to specific circumstances	173
GOV-1 The role of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies	175
GOV-2 Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the undertaking's administrative, management and supervisory bodies	176
GOV-3 Integration of sustainability strategies and performance in incentive schemes	176
GOV-4 Statement on sustainability due diligence	176
GOV-5 Risk management and internal controls over sustainability reporting	176
SMB-1 Market position, strategy, business model(s) and value chains	177
SMB-2 Interests and views of stakeholders	178
SMB-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s)	179
IRO-1 Description of the processes to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities	182
IRO-2 Disclosure Requirements in ESRS covered by the undertaking's sustainability statements	184
Environmental standards
EU Taxonomy
EU Taxonomy	185
ESRS E1 Climate change
ESRS 2 - GOV-3 Integration of sustainability-related performance in incentive schemes	176
E1-1 Transition plan for climate change mitigation	196
ESRS 2 - SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s)	197
ESRS 2 - IRO-1 Description of the processes to identify and assess material climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities	202
E1-2 Policies related to climate change mitigation and adaptation	202
E1-3 Actions and resources in relation to climate change policies	202
E1-4 Targets related to climate change mitigation and adaptation	205
E1-5 Energy consumption and mix	206
E1-6 Gross Scopes 1, 2, 3 and Total GHG emissions	208
E1-7 GHG removals and GHG mitigation projects financed through carbon credits	212
E1-8 Internal carbon pricing	212
ESRS E2 Pollution
ESRS 2 - IRO-1 Processes to identify and assess material pollution-related impacts, risks and opportunities	213
E2-1 Policies related to pollution	213
E2-2 Actions and resources related to pollution	213
E2-3 Targets related to pollution	214
E2-5 Substances of concern and substances of very high concern	214
ESRS E3 Water & marine resources
E3 - IRO-1 Processes to identify and assess material water and marine resources-related impacts, risks and opportunities	215
E3-1 Policies related to water and marine resources	215
E3-2 Actions and resources related to water and marine resources	215
E3-3 Targets related to water and marine resources	216
E3-4 Water consumption	216
ESRS E5 Resource use & circular economy
ESRS 2 - IRO-1 Processes to identify and assess material resource use and circular economy-related impacts, risks and opportunities	218
E5-1 Policies related to resource use and circular economy	218
E5-2 Actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy	219
E5-3 Targets related to resource use and circular economy	221
E5-4 Resource inflows	222
E5-5 Resource outflows	222

Social standards
ESRS S1	Own workforce
	ESRS 2 - SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s)	224
S1-1	Policies related to own workforce	225
S1-2	Processes for engaging with own workers and workers' representatives about impacts	226
S1-3	Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for own workers to raise concerns	227
S1-4	Taking action on material impacts on own workforce, and approaches to mitigating material risks and pursuing material opportunities related to own workforce, and effectiveness of those actions	228
S1-5	Targets related to managing material negative impacts, advancing positive impacts, and managing material risks and opportunities	231
S1-6	Characteristics of the undertaking's employees	232
S1-7	Characteristics of non-employee workers in the undertaking's own workforce	234
S1-9	Diversity indicators	235
S1-11	Social protection	235
S1-13	Training and skills development indicators	235
S1-14	Health and safety indicators	236
S1-16	Remuneration (not material IRO topic)	239
S1-17	Incidents, complaints & severe human rights impacts (not material IRO topic)	240
ESRS S2	Workers in the value chain
	ESRS 2 - SBM-3 Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s)	241
S2-1	Policies related to value chain workers	242
S2-2	Processes for engaging with value chain workers about impacts	242
S2-3	Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for value chain workers to raise concerns	244
S2-4	Taking action on material impacts on value chain workers, and approaches to mitigating material risks and pursuing material opportunities related to value chain workers, and effectiveness of those actions	244
S2-5	Targets related to managing material negative impacts, advancing positive impacts, and managing material risks and opportunities	245
ESRS S4	Consumers & end-users
S4 - SBM-3	Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s)	246
S4-1	Policies related to consumers and end-users	246
S4-2	Processes for engaging with consumers and end-users about impacts	247
S4-3	Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for consumers and end-users to raise concerns	247
S4-4	Taking action on material impacts on consumers and end users, and approaches to mitigating material risks and pursuing material opportunities related to consumers and end-users, and effectiveness of those actions	248
S4-5	Targets related to managing material negative impacts, advancing positive impacts, and managing material risks and opportunities	249
Governance standards
ESRS G1	Business conduct
G1 - GOV-1	The role of the administrative, supervisory and management bodies	250
G1-1	Corporate culture and business conduct policies	250
G1-3	Prevention and detection of corruption and bribery (not material IRO topic)	251
G1-4	Incidents of corruption and bribery (not material IRO topic)	251

Auditor's Report

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PART III

About this report

Reporting principles

Reporting scope

This report covers the consolidated performance indicators for all subsidiaries of the Bekaert Group. Consolidated data apply to the wholly and majority owned subsidiaries of NV Bekaert SA. When specified, the (combined) disclosures in this report include in addition the performance metrics of the joint ventures considered at 100% ownership.

Reporting period

This report covers the activities between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024, unless stated differently and if relevant for the report.

Bekaert reports its financial results twice per year (half-year results and full-year results). Bekaert reports annually on its sustainability performance.

Process for defining reporting content

The content of this report has been defined considering the most significant indicators of our activities, the impact of and commitment to the company's interest groups, the efforts in enhancing sustainability and the level of detail established by the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive).

This report complies with iXBRL/ESEF regulations and includes the outcome of the EU Taxonomy eligibility and alignment disclosure requirements.

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with and comply with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) which have been endorsed by the European Union.

Our interest groups are the Bekaert employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders, partners, local governments, and the communities in which we are active.

Glossary

Term	Definition
Corporate Governance Statements Glossary
BCCA	Belgian Code on Companies and Associates
BGE	Bekaert Group Executives
Code 2020	2020 Belgian Code on Corporate Governance (the "Code 2020")
COSO	Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
ESG	Environment, Social, Governance
ERM	Enterprise Risk Management
IFRS	International Financial Reporting Standards
M&A	Mergers & Acquisitions
NRC	Nomination and Remuneration Committee
SH&E	Safety, Health & Environment
ESG Glossary
(V)PPA's	(Virtual) Power Purchase Agreements
CO2e	Carbon dioxide equivalent: a standardised unit used to measure the climate impact of various greenhouse gases.
CSRD	Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
D&I	Diversity & Inclusion
DNSH	Do no signicant harm
EAP	Employee Assistant Program
EFRAG	European Financial Reporting Advisory Group
Employees	workers on the payroll including blue collars, salaried-professionals and managers
EPD	Environmental Product Declarations
ERM	Enterprise risk management
ESG	Environment, Social, Governance
ESRS	European Sustainability Reporting Standards
ETS	Emission trading schemes
GHG	Greenhouse gas emissions
IEA	International Energy Agency
ILO	International Labour Organisation
IPCC	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IRO's	Impacts, risks and opportunities
LCA	Life Cycle Analysis
LTIFR	Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate (Number of lost time incidents per million worked hours)
MSS	Minimum social safeguards
Non-employees	workers that are not on our payroll but are complementing our payroll workforce
OECD	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Own workforce	employees + non-employees
SBTi	Science Based Targets initiative
SC	Substantial contribution
SI	Serious Injury (incident leading to life-altering injuries)
SI rate	real Serious Injuries per million worked hours
SRM	Supplier Relationship Management
Strategic suppliers	The Partners, Preferred and Monitored segments of Bekaert's supplier relationship management framework. This group covers all suppliers with significant commercial or other business impact, incorporating factors such as portion of category spend, the criticality of the materials or services provided, supplier risk exposure and collaboration level.
	Sustainable Solutions Products and solutions defined and classified according to the EU Taxonomy framework
TCFD	Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
TRIR	Total Recordable Incident Rate (all recorded incidents per million worked hours)

Statement from the responsible persons

The undersigned persons state that, to the best of their knowledge:

• the consolidated financial statements of NV Bekaert SA and its subsidiaries as of 31 December 2024 have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, and give a true and fair view of the assets and liabilities, financial position and results of the whole of the companies included in the consolidation; and
• the annual report on the consolidated financial statements gives a fair overview of the development and the results of the business and of the position of the whole of the companies included in the consolidation, as well as a description of the principal risks and uncertainties faced by them; and
• the 2024 non-financial statements of NV Bekaert SA, its subsidiaries and, where applicable, the joint ventures, have been prepared in compliance with the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and its ESRS standards and in reference with the GRI Standards).

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Yves Kerstens Jürgen Tinggren

Chief Executive Officer Chairman of the Board of Directors

Company Secretary

Isabelle Vander Vekens

Auditors

EY

The Auditor's Report on financial disclosures is included in the Financial Statements of this annual report.

The Auditor's Report on non-financial disclosures (limited assurance) is included in the ESG Statements. It refers to the audits performed on disclosures in compliance with the CSRD and its ESRS standards.

Editor & coordination

Guy Marks, VP Investor Relations

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This report may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Bekaert is providing the information in this report as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this report in light of new information, future events or otherwise. Bekaert disclaims any liability for statements made or published by third parties and does not undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information, conclusions or opinions published by third parties in relation to this or any other report or press release issued by Bekaert.

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The annual report for the year 2024 is available in English and Dutch on our website.