10. Basic/Diluted Earnings per Share

Earnings per share for 2024 amounted to €4.05 (previous year: €3.24). The basis for calculation is profit after tax excluding profit attributable to non-controlling interests.

When calculating earnings per share for financial year 2024, we used a weighted average of the shares in circulation due to the share buyback program and the necessary retirement of treasury shares. We determined this weighted average on the basis of the share buybacks. The number of shares in circulation was 226,818,984 as of January 1, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the number of shares issued less treasury shares was 223,214,380. Based on the buybacks, the weighted average number of shares in circulation is 224,959,424. In the previous year, 25,181,016 treasury shares were deducted from the 252,000,000 shares issued. The remaining 226,818,984 shares were used as the basis for calculating the previous year’s earnings per share.

As there are no outstanding financial instruments that can be exchanged for shares, there is no difference between diluted and basic earnings per share.