EXMAR report 2025

5.2 Consolidated financial statements 230 Note 27 - Employee benefits DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN AND SIMILAR LIABILITIES The Group provides pension benefits for most of its employees, either directly or through a contribution to an independent fund. The pension benefits for management staff employed before January 1, 2008 are provided under a defined benefit plan. This plan is organized as a final pay program. For the management, employed as from January 1, 2008, and employees promoted to management as from January 1, 2008 and the management staff who reached the age of 60, the pension benefits are provided under a defined contribution plan. Belgian defined contribution plans are subject to the Law of April 28, 2003 on supplementary pensions (WAP). According to article 24 of this law, the employer has to guarantee a fixed minimum return of 3.25% on employer contributions and of 3.75% on employee contributions and this for contributions paid until December 31, 2015. As from January 2016, the employer has to guarantee an average minimum return of 1.75% on both employer and employee contributions (as changed by the Law of December 18, 2015). This guaranteed minimum return generally exceeds the return that is normally guaranteed by the insurer. Because the employer has to guarantee the statutory minimum return on these plans, not all actuarial and investment risks relating to these plans are transferred to the insurance company managing the plans. Therefore, these plans do not meet the definition of defined contribution plan under IFRS and have to be classified by default as defined benefit plans. An actuarial calculation has been performed in accordance with IAS 19 based on the projected unit credit method. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (IN THOUSANDS OF USD) FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 31 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 DEFINED BENEFIT PLANS Present value of funded obligations -5,715 -6,105 -7,417 -7,523 -9,631 Fair value of the defined plan assets 5,256 5,421 6,549 6,601 9,017 Present value of net obligations -459 -684 -868 -922 -614 BELGIAN DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN WITH GUARANTEED RETURN Present value of funded obligations -6,740 -6,254 -6,701 -5,690 -8,102 Fair value of the defined plan assets 6,645 6,153 6,570 5,571 7,986 Present value of net (obligations) assets -95 -101 -131 -119 -116 Total employee benefits -554 -785 -999 -1,040 -730