Reproduction of the Independent Auditor’s Report

To Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt, Germany

Report on the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management Report

Audit Opinions

We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt, Germany, and its subsidiaries (the Group) which comprise the consolidated balance sheet as at December 31, 2023, the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated statement of changes in net equity and the consolidated cash flow statement for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, and the notes to the consolidated financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. In addition, we have audited the combined management report for the parent and the Group of Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt, Germany, for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. In accordance with the German legal requirements, we have not audited the content of the combined non-financial statement pursuant to sections 289b and 315b German Commercial Code (HGB) included in the section “Non-financial statement” of the combined management report, nor the corporate governance statement pursuant to sections 289f and 315d HGB referred to in the combined management report. Moreover, we have not audited the content of the disclosures described as extraneous to the combined management report.

In our opinion, on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the audit,

the accompanying consolidated financial statements comply, in all material respects, with the IFRS as adopted by the EU and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to section 315e (1) HGB and, in compliance with these requirements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the Group as at December 31, 2023, and of its financial performance for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, and
the accompanying combined management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position. In all material respects, this combined management report is consistent with the consolidated financial statements, complies with German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. Our audit opinion on the combined management report does not cover the content of the above-mentioned statements and disclosures extraneous to the combined management report.

Pursuant to section 322 (3) sentence 1 HGB, we declare that our audit has not led to any reservations relating to the legal compliance of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report.

Basis for the Audit Opinions

We conducted our audit of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report in accordance with section 317 HGB and the EU Audit Regulation (No. 537/2014; referred to subsequently as “EU Audit Regulation”) and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW). Our responsibilities under those requirements and principles are further described in the “Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management Report” section of our auditor’s report. We are independent of the group entities in accordance with the requirements of European law and German commercial and professional law, and we have fulfilled our other German professional responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. In addition, in accordance with Article 10 (2) point (f) of the EU Audit Regulation, we declare that we have not provided non-audit services prohibited under Article 5 (1) of the EU Audit Regulation. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report.

Key Audit Matters in the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated financial statements for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole and in forming our audit opinion thereon; we do not provide a separate audit opinion on these matters.

In the following we present the key audit matters we have determined in the course of our audit:

Recoverability of goodwill in the Electronics business sector
Completeness and measurement of income tax liabilities

Our presentation of these key audit matters has been structured as follows:

description (including reference to corresponding information in the consolidated financial statements)
auditor’s response

1. Recoverability of goodwill in the Electronics business sector

a) In the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2023, of Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt, Germany, the amount stated under the balance sheet item “Goodwill” is mEUR 17,845 (36.8% of the Group’s total assets), with mEUR 4,532 attributable to the Electronics business sector. The Electronics business sector represents a cash-generating unit.

Recoverability of goodwill of the cash-generating unit Electronics was a key matter in our audit because we identified an increased impairment risk for this business sector as part of our risk assessment. The impairment test for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements is based on a valuation of the Electronics business sector that involves discounting the planned future cash flows for this business sector at weighted average cost of capital using a discounted cash flow model. The planned cash flows are derived from the medium-term planning for the business sector approved by the executive directors, which is extrapolated based on assumed long-term growth rates.

The result of this valuation highly depends on the executive directors’ judgmental determination of future cash flows and the discount rate for the business sector and is therefore subject to considerable uncertainties. Therefore, and as a result of our risk assessment, this matter was of particular significance in our audit.

The disclosures of the executive directors on goodwill can be found in note 18 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

b) Among others, in our audit we obtained an understanding of the accounting-relevant controls included in the process and reproduced the methodological approach to performing the impairment tests. Where identified controls were relevant for our audit, we had their design and implementation tested. Where estimates were made by the executive directors, we assessed whether the methods applied, assumptions made and data used were acceptable. Regarding the projection of future cash flows, we firstly evaluated the planning reliability by reviewing the past adherence to planning, walked through the underlying planning process and conducted a critical assessment. Subsequently, we evaluated the appropriateness of the future cash flows used in the valuation, especially by comparing these figures with the medium-term planning approved by the executive directors and by reconciling selected planning assumptions with general, company and industry-specific market expectations. We obtained a deep understanding of the parameters applied in determining the discount rate used, evaluated the completeness and accuracy of the calculation scheme and had them compared with general and industry-specific market expectations. Furthermore, due to the material significance of goodwill, we performed an additional own sensitivity analysis for the cash-generating unit (comparison of carrying amount with recoverable amount). As part of our audit, we were supported by internal valuation experts. Using their help, we reproduced the methodological approach to impairment testing, the arithmetical correctness of the valuation model as well as the determination of the used discount rate.

2. Completeness and measurement of income tax liabilities

a) As at December 31, 2023, the amount recognized for income tax liabilities including liabilities for uncertain tax obligations is mEUR 1,473.

The Group operates in different jurisdictions with different legal systems. The application of local tax regulations and tax incentives as well as transfer pricing rules is complex. The recognition and measurement of income tax liabilities require the executive directors to exercise judgment in assessing tax matters and to make estimates regarding uncertain tax positions. In order to reinforce and validate their own risk assessment, the executive directors engaged external experts as deemed necessary. There is a risk for the consolidated financial statements that income tax liabilities are not fully recognized or not appropriately measured. For these reasons, this matter was of particular significance in our audit.

The disclosures of the executive directors on recognition and measurement of income tax liabilities can be found in note 15 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.

b) Among other things, as part of our audit we obtained an understanding of the process and of the accounting-relevant controls included in the process and involved our own tax experts in respect of national and international tax law into the audit team in order to evaluate the executive directors’ judgments and estimates as well as the assessment of the engaged external experts, if any. Where identified controls were relevant for our audit, we had their design and implementation tested.

We obtained an understanding of existing tax risks through inquiry of employees in the tax department. We assessed the competence, capabilities and objectivity of the external experts and evaluated their expert opinions.

Furthermore, we analyzed correspondence with the competent tax authorities and assessed the assumptions underlying the determination of income tax liabilities based on our knowledge and experience of how the relevant legal requirements are currently applied by the tax authorities and courts. We used a risk-based audit approach to audit the accuracy of the calculation of the income tax liabilities.

Other Information

The executive directors and/or the supervisory board are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises:

the report of the supervisory board,
the remuneration report pursuant to section 162 German Stock Corporation Act (AktG),
the combined consolidated non-financial statement pursuant to sections 289b and 315b HGB included in the section “Non-financial statement” of the combined management report,
the corporate governance statement pursuant to sections 289f and 315d HGB referred to in the combined management report,
the other content of the combined management report described as extraneous to the combined management report,
the executive directors’ confirmation regarding the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report pursuant to section 297 (2) sentence 4 and section 315 (1) sentence 5 HGB, and
all other parts of the annual report,
but not the consolidated financial statements, not the audited content of the combined management report and not our auditor’s report thereon.

The supervisory board is responsible for the report of the supervisory board. The executive directors and the supervisory board are responsible for the statement according to section 161 AktG concerning the German Corporate Governance Code, which is part of the corporate governance statement, and for the remuneration report pursuant to section 162 AktG. Otherwise, the executive directors are responsible for the other information.

Our audit opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report do not cover the other information, and consequently we do not express an audit opinion or any other form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit, our responsibility is to read the other information identified above and, in doing so, to consider whether the other information:

is materially inconsistent with the consolidated financial statements, with the audited content of the group management report or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or
otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

Responsibilities of the Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board for the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Combined Management Report

The executive directors are responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements that comply, in all material respects, with IFRS as adopted by the EU and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to section 315e (1) HGB, and that the consolidated financial statements, in compliance with these requirements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and financial performance of the Group. In addition, the executive directors are responsible for such internal control as they have determined necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud (i.e. fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets) or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the executive directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. They also have the responsibility for disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern. In addition, they are responsible for financial reporting based on the going concern basis of accounting unless there is an intention to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so.

Furthermore, the executive directors are responsible for the preparation of the combined management report that as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and is, in all material respects, consistent with the consolidated financial statements, complies with German legal requirements, and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. In addition, the executive directors are responsible for such arrangements and measures (systems) as they have considered necessary to enable the preparation of a combined management report that is in accordance with the applicable German legal requirements, and to be able to provide sufficient appropriate evidence for the assertions in the combined management report.

The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the Group’s financial reporting process for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management Report

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and whether the combined management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and, in all material respects, is consistent with the consolidated financial statements and the knowledge obtained in the audit, complies with the German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development, as well as to issue an auditor’s report that includes our audit opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report.

Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with section 317 HGB and the EU Audit Regulation and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) will always detect a material misstatement. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements and this group management report.

We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls.
obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit of the consolidated financial statements and of arrangements and measures relevant to the audit of the combined management report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an audit opinion on the effectiveness of these systems.
evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used by the executive directors and the reasonableness of estimates made by the executive directors and related disclosures.
conclude on the appropriateness of the executive directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in the auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements and in the combined management report or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our respective audit opinions. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group to cease to be able to continue as a going concern.
evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the consolidated financial statements present the underlying transactions and events in a manner that the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and financial performance of the Group in compliance with IFRS as adopted by the EU and with the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to section 315e (1) HGB.
obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to express audit opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinions.
evaluate the consistency of the combined management report with the consolidated financial statements, its conformity with German law, and the view of the Group’s position it provides.
perform audit procedures on the prospective information presented by the executive directors in the combined management report. On the basis of sufficient appropriate audit evidence we evaluate, in particular, the significant assumptions used by the executive directors as a basis for the prospective information, and evaluate the proper derivation of the prospective information from these assumptions. We do not express a separate audit opinion on the prospective information and on the assumptions used as a basis. There is a substantial unavoidable risk that future events will differ materially from the prospective information.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

We provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with the relevant independence requirements, and communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, the actions taken or safeguards applied to eliminate independence threats.

From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the consolidated financial statements for the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in the auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter.

Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements

Report on the Audit of the Electronic Reproductions of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management report Prepared for Publication Pursuant to Section 317 (3a) HGB

Audit Opinion

We have performed an audit in accordance with section 317 (3a) HGB to obtain reasonable assurance whether the electronic reproductions of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report (hereinafter referred to as “ESEF documents”) prepared for publication, contained in the file, which has the SHA 256 value c114c083dc2ea03436431c301daa4137a7a71bd1b9fb0c7c074e316f288ebc8f, meet, in all material respects, the requirements for the electronic reporting format pursuant to section 328 (1) HGB (“ESEF format”). In accordance with the German legal requirements, this audit only covers the conversion of the information contained in the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report into the ESEF format, and therefore covers neither the information contained in these electronic reproductions, nor any other information contained in the file identified above.

In our opinion, the electronic reproductions of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report prepared for publication contained in the file identified above meet, in all material respects, the requirements for the electronic reporting format pursuant to section 328 (1) HGB. Beyond this audit opinion and our audit opinions on the accompanying consolidated financial statements and on the accompanying combined management report for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023 contained in the “Report on the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management Report” above, we do not express any assurance opinion on the information contained within these electronic reproductions or on any other information contained in the file identified above.

Basis for the Audit Opinion

We conducted our audit of the electronic reproductions of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report contained in the file identified above in accordance with section 317 (3a) HGB and on the basis of the IDW Auditing Standard: Audit of the Electronic Reproductions of Financial Statements and Management Reports Prepared for Publication Purposes Pursuant to section 317 (3a) HGB (IDW AuS 410 (06.2022)). Our responsibilities in this context are further described in the “Group Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the ESEF Documents” section. Our audit firm has applied the requirements set forth in the IDW Quality Management Standards.

Responsibilities of the Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board for the ESEF Documents

The executive directors of the parent are responsible for the preparation of the ESEF documents based on the electronic files of the consolidated financial statements and of the group management report according to section 328 (1) sentence 4 no. 1 HGB and for the tagging of the consolidated financial statements according to section 328 (1) sentence 4 no. 2 HGB.

In addition, the executive directors of the parent are responsible for such internal controls that they have considered necessary to enable the preparation of ESEF documents that are free from material intentional or unintentional non-compliance with the requirements for the electronic reporting format pursuant to section 328 (1) HGB.

The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the process for preparing the ESEF documents as part of the financial reporting process.

Group Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the ESEF Documents

Our objective is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the ESEF documents are free from material intentional or unintentional non-compliance with the requirements of section 328 (1) HGB. We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

identify and assess the risks of material intentional or unintentional non-compliance with the requirements of section 328 (1) HGB, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit on the ESEF documents in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an assurance opinion on the effectiveness of these controls.
evaluate the technical validity of the ESEF documents, i.e., whether the file containing the ESEF documents meets the requirements of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815, in the version in force at the balance sheet date, on the technical specification for this electronic file.
evaluate whether the ESEF documents enable a XHTML reproduction with content equivalent to the audited consolidated financial statements and to the audited combined management report.
evaluate whether the tagging of the ESEF documents with Inline XBRL technology (iXBRL) in accordance with the requirements of Articles 4 and 6 of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815, in the version in force at the balance sheet date, enables an appropriate and complete machine-readable XBRL copy of the XHTML reproduction.

Further Information pursuant to Article 10 of the EU Audit Regulation

We were elected as Group auditor by the general meeting on April 22, 2022. We were engaged by the supervisory board on April 28, 2023. We have been the auditor of Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt/Germany, since the financial year 2023.

We declare that the audit opinions expressed in this auditor’s report are consistent with the additional report to the audit committee pursuant to Article 11 of the EU Audit Regulation (long-form audit report).

Other Matter – Use of the Auditor’s Report

Our auditor’s report must always be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements and the audited combined management report as well as with the audited ESEF documents. The consolidated financial statements and the combined management report converted into the ESEF format – including the versions to be submitted for inclusion in the Company Register – are merely electronic reproductions of the audited consolidated financial statements and the audited combined management report and do not take their place. In particular, the ESEF report and our audit opinion contained therein are to be used solely together with the audited ESEF documents made available in electronic form.

German Public Auditor Responsible for the Engagement

The German Public Auditor responsible for the engagement is Daniel Weise.

Frankfurt am Main, Germany, February 16, 2024

Deloitte GmbH
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft

Signed:
Christoph Schenk
Wirtschaftsprüfer
(German Public Auditor)

Signed:
Daniel Weise
Wirtschaftsprüfer
(German Public Auditor)

Limited assurance report of the independent practitioner regarding the non-financial statement

To Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt/Germany

Our Engagement

We have performed a limited assurance engagement on the consolidated non-financial statement of Merck Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Darmstadt/Germany, (“the Company”), which was combined with the non-financial statement of the Company, for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023 (“non-financial reporting”) included in the combined management report on the Company and the Group.

Our assurance engagement did not cover the remuneration report and sustainability report, which are referred to in the non-financial reporting, nor any references to external sources of documentation and websites contained in the non-financial reporting, including the contents of such sources of documentation and websites. Moreover, our assurance engagement did not consider any disclosures relating to prior periods.

Responsibility of the Executive Directors

The executive directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of the non-financial reporting in accordance with Section 289c to Section 289e German Commercial Code (HGB), Section 315c in conjunction with Section 289c to Section 289e HGB and Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the Parliament and the Council of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (“EU Taxonomy Regulation”) and the delegated acts adopted thereunder, as well as for making their own interpretation of the wording and terms contained in the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the delegated acts adopted thereunder, as set out in the section “Reporting in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation” of the non-financial reporting.

This responsibility includes the selection and application of appropriate non-financial reporting methods and making assumptions and estimates about individual non-financial information of the Group that are reasonable in the circumstances. Furthermore, the executive directors are responsible for such internal control as the executive directors consider necessary to enable the preparation of a non-financial reporting that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud (i.e. fraudulent non-financial reporting) or error.

The EU Taxonomy Regulation and the delegated acts adopted thereunder contain wording and terms that are still subject to considerable interpretation uncertainties and for which clarifications have not yet been published in every case. Therefore, the executive directors have disclosed their interpretation of the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the delegated acts adopted thereunder in the section “Reporting in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation” of the non-financial reporting. They are responsible for the defensibility of this interpretation. Due to the immanent risk that indeterminate legal terms may be interpreted differently, the legal conformity of the interpretation is subject to uncertainties.

The preciseness and completeness of the environmental data in the non-financial reporting is subject to inherent restrictions resulting from the manner in which the data was collected and calculated as well as from assumptions made.

Independence and Quality Assurance of the Audit Firm

We have complied with the German professional requirements on independence as well as other professional conduct requirements.

Our audit firm applies the national legal requirements and professional pronouncements – in particular the Professional Charter for German Public Auditors and German Sworn Auditors (BS WP/vBP) and the quality management standards issued by the Institute of Public Auditors in Germany (IDW) – and accordingly maintains a comprehensive quality management system that includes documented policies and procedures with regard to compliance with professional ethical requirements, professional standards as well as relevant statutory and other legal requirements.

Responsibility of the Independent Practitioner

Our responsibility is to express a conclusion with limited assurance on the non-financial reporting based on our assurance engagement.

We conducted our assurance engagement in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised): “Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information” issued by the IAASB. This standard requires that we plan and perform the assurance engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether any matters have come to our attention that cause us to believe that the Company’s non-financial reporting – with the exception of the referenced remuneration report and sustainability report and of references to external sources of documentation and websites including their contents as well as of disclosures relating to prior periods – is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with Section 289c to Section 289e HGB, Section 315c in conjunction with Section 289c to Section 289e HGB and the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the delegated acts adopted thereunder as well as the interpretation by the executive directors disclosed in the section “Reporting in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation” of the non-financial reporting.

The procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement are less in extent than for a reasonable assurance engagement; consequently, the level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance engagement been performed. The choice of assurance work is subject to the practitioner’s professional judgment.

Within the scope of our assurance engagement, which we performed in the months from October 2023 to February 2024, we have, among other things, performed the following assurance procedures and other activities:

Gaining an understanding of the structure of the Group’s sustainability organization and stakeholder engagement,
Inquiries of the executive directors and relevant employees involved in the preparation of the non-financial reporting about the preparation process, about the internal control related to this process and about disclosures in the non-financial reporting,
Identification of likely risks of material misstatement in the non-financial reporting,
Analytical procedures on selected information in the non-financial reporting,
Reconciliation of selected disclosures with the corresponding data in the consolidated financial statements and the annual financial statements and combined management report,
Evaluation of the presentation of the non-financial reporting, and
Evaluation of the process to identify taxonomy-eligible and taxonomy-aligned economic activities and the corresponding disclosures in the non-financial reporting.

In determining the information in accordance with Article 8 of the EU Taxonomy Regulation, the executive directors are required to interpret indeterminate legal terms. Due to the immanent risk that indeterminate legal terms may be interpreted differently, the legal conformity of their interpretation and, accordingly, our assurance engagement thereon are subject to uncertainties.

Practitioner’s Conclusion

Based on the assurance procedures performed and the evidence obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the combined non-financial statement of the Company for the financial year from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with Section 289c to Section 289e HGB, Section 315c in conjunction with Section 289c to Section 289e HGB and the EU Taxonomy Regulation and the delegated acts adopted thereunder as well as the interpretation by the executive directors as disclosed in the section “Reporting in accordance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation” of the combined non-financial statement.

Our assurance engagement did not cover any external sources of documentation, expert opinions or references to external websites listed in the combined non-financial statement.

Restriction of Use

We issue this report as stipulated in the engagement letter agreed with the Company (including the “General Engagement Terms for Wirtschaftsprüfer and Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften (German Public Auditors and Public Audit Firms)” as of January 1, 2017, promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW)). We draw attention to the fact that the assurance engagement was conducted for the Company’s purposes and that the report is intended solely to inform the Company about the result of the assurance engagement. Consequently, it may not be suitable for any other purpose than the aforementioned. Accordingly, the report is not intended to be used by third parties for making (financial) decisions based on it.

Our responsibility is to the Company alone. We do not accept any responsibility to third parties. Our conclusion is not modified in this respect.