Message from the CEO

Dear stakeholder,

2024 was another positive step on Refresco's journey of value creation. In a demanding external landscape, we successfully expanded our portfolio and footprint, enhanced efficiencies across our supply chain, protected our margins, and implemented multiple initiatives to strengthen Refresco's internal culture and work environment. Supported by a resilient business model, our people showed great resourcefulness and determination to service our strong and diversified customer base, power our forward momentum, and achieve very solid results.

The year in brief
In 2024, the macroenvironment was marked by the lingering impact of previous years' high inflation rates, which weighed on consumer demand and weakened growth in the global beverages market. With interest rates also fluctuating throughout the year and the labor market remaining tight, Refresco faced a unique combination of challenges that put our adaptability and agility to the test. I'm pleased to report that we navigated these headwinds with characteristic ingenuity and determination. While overall volumes slightly decreased from 2023 levels, driven largely by lower demand from our Global, National and Emerging brands (GNE) customers, we operated with agility and sustained continued growth in our bottom line results. Key initiatives in continuing our growth included protecting our margins by passing inflationary and commodity related costs on to our customers, managing our cost base to balance lower volume demand, and taking advantage of financial markets to reprice debt and improve our overall financial posture.

In parallel, we safeguarded our bottom line by optimizing efficiency across Refresco's supply chain. Key steps included streamlining and strengthening our approach to procurement, improving efficiency on production lines, and closely examining warehousing and transportation costs. Put simply: we left no stone unturned in our efforts to keep performance in line with expectations - and I'm proud of every colleague for supporting the successful realization of this goal.

Growth
In 2024, we saw a dip in volumes that we produced for our GNE customers. With the current inflationary environment remaining relatively high, we expect demand for branded products to rebound in due course. While we saw a decreased demand for GNE branded products within one dimension of our business, we enjoyed notable success with our retail customers, developing new products and categories that have been popular additions to supermarket shelves. Refresco's resilient business which combines retail and GNE volume is a key differentiating factor in servicing the beverage industry - and this balance ensured that our 2024 results remained satisfying in slightly declining market conditions.

Meanwhile, we continued to advance our growth ambitions by driving progress on our Buy & Build strategy. In April 2024, we acquired Varni Brothers Corporation in Modesto, California, strengthening our canning capacity for customers on the US West Coast. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we added a single production facility close to Berlin, complementing our national footprint across Germany. Finally, in November 2024, we completed the acquisition of Spain-based Frías Nutrición, strengthening our European footprint and furthering our strategic inroads into the plant-based drinks category. We will continue expanding our portfolio in this category going forward, in line with our long-term growth strategy. Our broader acquisition pipeline remains active, with more additions expected across Europe, North America, and Australia in the years to come. Moreover, integration of recently acquired plants progressed smoothly throughout 2024. In Australia, for instance, our three plants are now fully settled into the Refresco family. Our strong performance in this region creates opportunities in surrounding countries, unlocking a third continent for Refresco.

In 2024, we continued to progress across the five pillars of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy. Prioritizing realistic, attainable goals, we worked with the aim to reduce carbon emissions and waste throughout our operations while focusing on water management and use of responsible packaging. An important ESG highlight, one that underscores our commitment to eco-conscious practices, is the significant increase in recycled PET (rPET) achieved by Refresco's North American business over the past year.

All this progress - on sustainability, manufacturing excellence, and beyond - depends on Refresco being a safe and great place to work. I'm pleased to report that 2024 was a record year for safety performance at our facilities, and that our employee engagement survey showed a considerable increase in positive sentiment. These results highlight the ongoing maturation of our People strategy, which has been more prominent and effective than ever. From plant leaders driving improvements at the local level to frontline workers living our values every day, 2024 has been a year of daring to grow - and growing as a team.

A sense of gratitude
In that spirit, I'd like to extend my deepest gratitude to every Refresco colleague, whose talent, passion, and tenacity have been instrumental to our success: this year, and always. Likewise, I'm thankful to our customers, suppliers, shareholders, and other stakeholders, for your continued loyalty and confidence in our business. Together, we've achieved extraordinary things - and I'm sure our shared journey will bring fresh successes in 2025.

Hans Roelofs
Chief Executive Officer