Letter from the CEO

Dear Stakeholders,

As we navigate the longest downturn in the chemical industry in more than 20 years, Brenntag continues to face significant headwinds. Global production overcapacity, subdued industrial activity, and persistent pricing pressure are weighing on demand and margins. At the same time, cost inflation remains across several input factors.

These industry-specific challenges are unfolding against a continued complex macro-political backdrop. Heightened geopolitical tensions, ever-shifting trade policies, supply chain realignments, and regulatory uncertainty are contributing to high volatility in global markets and dampening investment confidence across key regions.

While this environment places considerable strain on chemical producers, Brenntag’s position within the value chain remains uniquely resilient. Our distribution model offers flexibility, global diversification, and proximity to customers; capabilities that are not inherent to asset-intensive manufacturing models. This structural advantage enables us to adapt quickly to regional shifts in supply and demand dynamics.

To leverage this position, we are taking decisive action. Over the past months, we have removed a management layer, strengthened key roles within the new Executive Committee, and streamlined corporate overhead functions and group guidelines to increase agility and cost discipline and bring the company leadership closer to the market.

These measures reinforce our ability to navigate the current cycle with focus and resilience, while positioning Brenntag to capture growth opportunities as markets stabilize and recover.

2025 financial performance

The financial results for 2025 reflect the weak end-market demand and the macroeconomic headwinds our businesses faced throughout the year. Group sales amounted to EUR 15.2 billion (-3.7%), while operating gross profit reached EUR 3.8 billion, down 1.9%. The operating gross profit margin improved by 0.5 percentage points to 25.3%. Group operating EBITDA totaled EUR 1.29 billion (-8.6%), and operating EBITA came in at EUR 929 million (-12.6%).

Despite this challenging environment, our solid free cash flow of EUR 941 million (+5.4%) underscores our strong cash generation capabilities. Importantly, our sales teams successfully preserved gross margins across both divisions, despite ongoing pricing pressure and subdued demand throughout 2025.

The reported earnings per share were EUR 1.83 down from EUR 3.71 in the previous year, strongly impacted by non-cash impairments as a result of an in-depth balance sheet review and other special items.

Dividend proposal

Despite the challenging market environment and the impact of one-time impairments and other special items, our consistently strong cash flow enables us to remain a reliable dividend payer.

The Board of Management and Supervisory Board therefore propose a dividend of EUR 1.90 per share, representing a reduction of approximately 10% compared to the previous year. This proposal reflects our balanced approach of safeguarding financial stability while maintaining our commitment to delivering attractive and sustainable returns to our shareholders.

Cost reduction

We are simplifying and streamlining our organizational structure and administrative processes, eliminating duplicate structures and structural overlaps. Our cost-out program is progressing as planned. In 2025, we delivered a further EUR 115 million in gross run-rate cost savings compared to the 2024 level.

Strengthening our footprint

Despite ongoing market headwinds, we continued to invest strategically in our footprint and portfolio, with transactions signed or closed totaling EUR 260 million in 2025. The two principal acquisitions - Chem Tech in the United States and Airedale in the UK - further strengthened our Essentials and Specialties offerings in core markets.

Safety is key

For our business, “Safety First” is a fundamental value. We recognize the inherent risks of our industry and meet them with a commitment to zero harm. This commitment encompasses the health and safety of our employees as well as product safety and the protection of the environment. Our efforts to lead the industry in responsible business practices were recognized externally this year, with Brenntag winning the German Sustainability Award in two categories.

Our key priorities

We are conducting a strategic review to develop the most competitive and scalable global distribution supply chain and to enable sustainable growth. We will present the outcome of this review, together with our updated Group strategy, in the second half of 2026.

At this stage, our immediate priorities are clear:

1. Sales

We have ruled out a separation of the company and are shifting our focus decisively outward. We are empowering local sales teams in both divisions to drive not only volume growth but also sales quality and customer service excellence. Proximity to the market remains the primary engine of our future growth.

2. Clarity and simplification

We are simplifying our structures to build a leaner and more agile organization. This includes reducing bureaucracy, accelerating decision-making, and strengthening accountability through empowered teams and clearer ownership.

The newly established Brenntag Executive Committee reinforces execution discipline and ensures a strong commercial and growth focus. We have already implemented many of the key structural measures required to support this shift.

With respect to our operating model, we remain fully committed to Brenntag Specialties and Brenntag Essentials as the two core divisions of the Group. They will continue to operate with distinct market approaches, supported by a shared backbone and aligned under one Group strategy and one corporate brand.

3. Execution

To enhance efficiency and align our cost base with current market realities, we are rigorously executing our cost-out program and driving operational improvements. Focused execution strengthens agility and enables us to reinvest in growth, reinforce resilience, and deliver sustainable value creation.

Moving into 2026

While we see some positive signs in certain markets, particularly pharma and the energy sector, the global economic environment remains subdued and, in aggregate, the current market outlook is flat at best. Geopolitical tensions and broader uncertainty across many regions continue to weigh on sentiment.

In this environment, we will remain close to our customers, suppliers, and business partners to ensure we respond to market developments in an informed and decisive manner. We will leverage our global presence, domain expertise, and resilient business model to navigate ongoing volatility.

We are using this phase of market softness to strengthen our structural foundations and position the Group for the next upcycle. Furthermore, we observe that the present market environment creates a favorable backdrop for strategic and bolt-on acquisitions to expand our footprint.

In closing, my sincere thanks go to our colleagues across the Brenntag organization for their unwavering commitment during a challenging year, and to our shareholders and partners for their continued trust and support.

Sincerely,

Jens Birgersson

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management
Brenntag SE