Highlights and key figures in 2022 - looking ahead to 2023

Ready meals strategic business unit

The turnover of the ready meals business unit rose by 24 percent (from 274.09 million to 338.9 million euros). This increase is mainly due to the charging of cost increases and the further recovery of the food sector after the Covid crisis.

Our new products successfully entering the British market helped recovery as well. In retail, volumes held up nicely and inflation in retail prices did not lead to a drop in consumption as our product portfolio caters to every budget. The impact of temporary non-delivery to our customers was limited and our logistics teams continued to work very efficiently in these difficult circumstances.

The steep cost increases and the delayed charging led to a decrease in the EBITDA of the segment by 22 percent (from 28.4 million euros in 2021 to 22 million euros in 2022).

Despite some challenging situations, the group continued to invest in new products and the innovation of existing products. Furthermore, the roll-out of the Come a casa® brand in Eastern Europe is on schedule. In accordance with the new strategy, we will also further expand the share of vegetarian and plant-based meals within this business unit, our current successful meals serving as a basis.

Dividend proposal

The board of directors will propose to the general meeting to keep the gross dividend per share (in 2022) at 4 euros in the form of an optional dividend.

Events after the balance date

See page 137, point 35.

Outlook for 2023 New strategy

In addition to high quality and good service, our new strategic multi-year plan focuses on sustainable growth, the innovation of existing products, and the creation of new products.

Our investment in start-up Davai (producer of plant-based dumplings) and the development of an R&D team for the entire group fit into this picture. Furthermore, What’s Cooking? strives for excellence, and streamlined and digitised processes, and we want to focus more on our brands. We expect to reap the first fruits of this new group strategy in 2023.

2022 already saw us take a few steps towards more sustainable products and processes. Under the guidance of our sustainability manager, we developed a double materiality matrix and set KPIs and targets which we monitor via a sustainability platform.

We also appointed ambassadors at all sites and launched numerous ESG activities (Environment, Social and Governance), next to calculating the ecological footprint of the group and our main products. Together with our suppliers, we want to respond better to the demands of our clients and consumers, and contribute to more sustainable food production.

Savoury

Due to the non-renewal of several contracts, What’s Cooking? expects a slight decline in the sale of savoury slices & spreads in 2023. The group is adapting its operations accordingly and is actively looking for new customers to cover overhead costs. In addition, we continue to invest in chain optimisations to offer our clients a high-quality and affordable product, and in innovations that help them make better choices. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we forecast that the unit’s UEBITDA will lie somewhere between the UEBITDA of 2021 and 2022.

Ready meals

What’s Cooking? expects results for ready meals to improve significantly. Our contracts contain an automatic indexation mechanism for the main ingredients, or they are short-term, which allows us offset additional infl ation, where possible. Due to our high degree of automation, What’s Cooking? is already benefiting from the investments we made in recent years. Bar unforeseen circumstances, the segment’s UEBITDA will gradually return to the 2021 UEBITDA.

Group - expenses

What’s Cooking? expects operating costs to increase as a result of the new strategy that focuses on sustainability, R&D, digitisation and a further professionalisation of the human resources management. Those extra costs will contribute to the results of the coming years.

General

Infl ation peaks and the availability of raw materials are difficult to predict. An overall scarcity of certain raw materials and packaging materials can lead to delivery problems. Gained and lost contracts will have a faster impact on the group’s results compared to the past, given the shorter contract duration.

Strategic objectives

What’s Cooking? wants to create growth and added value for all stakeholders. To conclude this introduction, we present some of our targets for 2023, with a view to 2030.

Must-do’s

• Prioritise safety and food safety

• Sustainable profitable growth

Strategic beliefs

• Engaged employees

• Re-build innovation

• Refocus our portfolio

• Strive for excellence

• Accelerate digitisation

• Be a sustainability pioneer within our sector

EAT (Earnings After Tax)