Groupe Bruxelles Lambert : Results as of March 31, 2021

		May 6, 2021 - After 5:45pm CET
		Regulated information - Interim statement
	Delivering meaningful growth	Results as of March 31, 2021

Continued portfolio rebalancing and strengthened financial position

in a market environment that remains uncertain and volatile

• Net Asset Value rebound of + 32.9% over the last 12 months, significantly outperforming the Stoxx Europe 50 (+ 21.7%)
• Portfolio rotation of EUR 1.4 billion, mainly due to reducing our position in Holcim1 and increasing our exposure to growing private assets with the closing of Canyon
• Solid financial position strengthened by institutional and convertible2 bond issuances totaling EUR 1.0 billion
• Consolidated net result up strongly with a significant contribution from Sienna Capital
• A tightened and strengthened Board of Directors for more agile governance
• ESG ambitions confirmed with clear 2025-2030 commitments and achievement of top-tier ranking

Ian Gallienne, CEO of GBL stated, "We continue to operate in a particularly complex environment combining a lack of visibility regarding the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic and a strong recovery already observed in some markets, particularly the United States. Despite this uncertain environment, characterized by increased volatility, we continued to rebalance our portfolio toward assets with higher growth potential by reducing our position in Holcim and by taking a majority stake in the private group Canyon, world leader in the online distribution of high-end bicycles. Our agility in the capital markets has enabled us to strengthen our liquidity profile by 1 billion euros to more than 4 billion2 euros, notably through the issuance of bonds convertible into GBL shares. Beyond the optimal use of part of our treasury shares and efficient financing terms, this issue, carried out at a conversion price of approximately 117.49 euros, enables us to reiterate our strong conviction in the potential of our net asset value growth and reduction of GBL's discount."

Key financial data 3

EUR million	End of March		End of December
				Variation 4
(Group's share)	2021	2020	2020
Consolidated net result	225	15	391	211
Cash earnings	111	161	440	(50)
Net asset value	21,090	15,875	20,498	+2.9%
Market capitalisation	14,241	11,556	13,315	+7.0%
Discount	32.5%	27.2%	35.0%	(2.6)%
Net investments / (divestments)	(107)	565 5	1,433 5	(673)
Net cash / (Net debt)	(1,363)	(448)	(1,563)	201
Loan To Value	6.3%	2.8%	7.3%

1. Name change from LafargeHolcim Ltd to Holcim Ltd ("Holcim") approved at the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting on May 4, 2021
2. Pro forma liquidity profile for convertible bonds placed on March 23, 2021 with a settlement on April 1, 2021
3. Alternative performance indicators are defined in the glossary available on GBL's website:https://www.gbl.be/en/glossary
4. Variation between March 2021 and March 2020 for the consolidated net result, cash earnings and net investments / (divestments), and between March 2021 and December 2020 for net asset value, market capitalisation, discount and net debt
5. Excluding forward sales of Total shares exercised in 2019 and having matured in January 2020

Press release May 6, 2021 // Page 1 / 15 // For more information: www.gbl.be

Strong rebound in a complex market environment

Despite a macroeconomic backdrop that continues to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still not under control and has led to a wave of sporadic and local lockdowns, particularly in Europe, the financial markets continued their strong rebound at the start of 2021, especially in the United States where the indices have already exceeded their all-time high pre-crisis levels.

In this context, our net asset value reached EUR 21.1 billion as of March 31, 2021, up sharply by + 32.9% over the last 12 months and outperforming significantly the + 21.7% rebound of our reference index, the Stoxx Europe 50, over the same period.

We also continued to outperform our reference index in terms of total shareholder return. Since the launch of our portfolio rebalancing strategy in 2012, which has led to over EUR 22 billion in asset rotation, we have generated an annualized total return of 10.1% vs. 8.0% for the Stoxx Europe 50 at the end of March 2021.

Dynamic asset rotation favoring private assets with strong growth potential

Despite weighing uncertainties related to the timing of the end of the health and economic crisis, during the first quarter of 2021, we continued to rotate our portfolio through EUR 792 million of disposals and EUR 650 million of investments1 oriented toward private assets with greater growth potential.

We therefore continued the reduction of our position in Holcim, which began in the second half of 2019, through EUR 530 million of additional disposals, thus decreasing our holding from 7.57% to 5.77% of the group's capital.

The closing of the acquisition of a majority stake in Canyon, world leader in online only distribution of high-end bicycles, enabled us to continue to increase our private asset exposure through an investment of EUR 357 million. Canyon is at the crossroads of several structural trends that are part of GBL's strategic priorities and that have experienced accelerated momentum as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. These include health & wellness, sustainable mobility and online commerce.

Finally, our alternative asset management platform, Sienna Capital, strengthened its exposure to the technology sector through a direct co-investment of EUR 100 million in Globality, a group based in Silicon Valley that has developed a cutting-edge digital platform using artificial intelligence to provide strategic professional services.

A solid financial performance supporting the deployment of our strategy

Our financial flexibility remains significant at the end of March 2021, with a liquidity profile of EUR 3.6 billion and a Loan To Value ratio of 6.3%, allowing us to pursue the deployment of our investment strategy, to continue to execute our share buyback program and, if necessary, to support our portfolio companies.

We seized appropriate market windows during the first quarter to issue on efficient terms EUR 1.0 billion in the institutional bond and equity-linked markets. The placement in January 2021 of EUR 500 million 10-year institutional bonds with a 0.125% coupon was oversubscribed by more than 3.5x, reflecting the strength of our high investment grade credit quality.

The convertible bond issue in March 2021 also strengthened our liquidity profile, by EUR 500 million. With a 5-year maturity, they have a zero coupon, an annual yield of -0.25% and an initial conversion price of EUR 117.4928 corresponding to a premium of 35% over the reference share price at placement and of 22% to our historical high. Beyond the efficiency of the financing terms and the optimal use of part of our treasury shares, this issue enabled us to reaffirm the strong potential of net asset value growth and tightening of our discount which remains at levels2 that do not reflect our solid fundamentals.

The results for the first quarter are hardly representative of the full financial year, as a significant portion of dividends from our holdings are recognized as from the second quarter. The consolidated net result, however, rose sharply by EUR 211 million to EUR 225 million, notably from Sienna Capital's contribution of EUR 161 million. Cash earnings are down 31.3% to EUR 111 million.

1. Excluding share buybacks
2. 32.5% on March 31, 2021, compared to an average discount of 25.6% over the past five years

Press release May 6, 2021 // Page 2 / 15 // For more information: www.gbl.be

Strengthening our governance

As of the close of the General Assembly on April 27, 2021, our Board of Directors saw its size reduced to 13 members (17 previously) and now includes a new first-rate independent Director, Jacques Veyrat, bringing to GBL solid experience, particularly in investments. This tighter and strengthened organization provides GBL with more agile governance better suited to the group's strategic challenges.

Reaffirmed ESG ambitions and top-tier ranking

In March 2021, GBL's Board of Directors approved an update to our ESG Policy detailing clear 2025-2030 commitments in the areas of climate change, diversity, transparency and the promotion of access to sustainable finance, and thus reaffirming our ambitions in this area.

GBL's ESG integration leadership and achievements have been recognised in Sustainalytics' latest ESG review, with GBL now ranked 4th out of 756 companies in the "Diversified Financials" industry thanks to its "Negligible" ESG risk status and very strong ESG integration management practices. This achievement puts GBL in the top 1st percentile.

1. Portfolio rotation, net asset value increase and financial position evolution

1.1. Highlights as of March 31, 2021

Listed investments: ongoing rotation toward assets with greater growth potential

Holcim: During the first quarter of 2021, GBL entered into forward sales maturing on March 26, 2021 for a fraction of its holding in Holcim representing 1.80% of the capital (11.1 million shares) for a net amount of EUR 530 million. These sales generated a capital gain1 of EUR 118 million. GBL's holding decreased from 7.57% of Holcim's capital at the end of 2020 to 5.77% following these disposals. As of March 31, 2021, GBL's holding in Holcim was valued at EUR 1,784 million.

Mowi: GBL increased its position in the world's leading producer of farmed-raised Atlantic salmon from 5.85% of the capital to 7.01% for a total of EUR 110 million. As of March 31, 2021, GBL's stake was valued at EUR 769 million.

Private assets: majority stake in Canyon, a fast-growing leader

Canyon: On March 9, 2021, GBL finalized an acquisition for a majority stake in Canyon Bicycles GmbH ("Canyon"), a German company and leader in direct-to-consumer (DTC) distribution of high-end bicycles. GBL has invested EUR 357 million alongside (i) founder Roman Arnold, who has reinvested a significant portion of his proceeds and remains a significant minority shareholder of the group, and (ii) the management team. GBL controls the acquisition vehicle and holds 60% of the capital jointly with co-investors. The group is growing strongly, its sales having almost doubled over the past three years and now exceeding EUR 400 million. Roman Arnold remains Chairman of the Advisory Board alongside GBL representatives including Jean-Pierre Millet and Tony Fadell. Jean-Pierre Millet has a long experience in private equity, having managed Carlyle Europe for 15 years before founding PrimeStone Capital. Tony Fadell is best known as one of the creators of the iPod, the founder of Nest and CEO of Future Shape and brings to Canyon his product development expertise as well as his passion for cycling. Jean-Pierre Millet and Tony Fadell have co-invested alongside GBL.

Sienna Capital: dynamic asset rotation

Globality: Sienna Capital has invested EUR 100 million in Globality's series E fundraising. Based in Silicon Valley and founded by Joel Hyatt, Globality is the leading digital platform based on artificial intelligence for the provision of strategic services.

1 No impact on GBL's consolidated net result in 2021, in accordance with IFRS 9

Press release May 6, 2021 // Page 3 / 15 // For more information: www.gbl.be

Ergon: Ergon Capital Partners III ("ECP III") completed the disposals of Keesing and svt, generating net capital gains of EUR 65 million and EUR 55 million respectively, GBL's share.

Financing: issuances at efficient terms strengthening our liquidity profile

On January 21, 2021, GBL placed a EUR 500 million institutional bond with a 10-year maturity bearing a coupon of 0.125%. This issue is intended to be used for the group's general corporate purposes and extends the weighted average maturity of GBL's gross indebtedness. The issue has been oversubscribed more than 3.5 times by a diversified and balanced institutional investor base.

On March 23, 2021, GBL (the "Guarantor") announced the placement by its fully-owned subsidiary Sagerpar SA (the "Issuer") of a EUR 500 million convertible bond issue maturing in 2026 (the "Bonds") into existing ordinary shares of GBL. GBL guarantees the Issuer's obligations under the Bonds. This issue initially covers approximately 4.3 million treasury shares representing roughly 46.49% of GBL's treasury shares as of March 31, 2021. The Bonds do not bear interest and will have a maturity of 5 years, subject to early redemption. The Bonds have been issued at an issue price of 101.25% of the par value and, unless previously redeemed, converted, or purchased and cancelled, the Bonds will be repaid in cash at par at maturity (subject to the Issuer's share redemption option), which corresponds to an annual yield to maturity of - 0.25%. The net proceeds of the offering will be used for GBL's general corporate purposes.

Share buybacks: continuation of the program in the context of a widening discount

The Board of Directors of September 17, 2020 approved a third EUR 250 million allocation for share buybacks. This authorization is valid until April 2025. Under this authorization, GBL acquired, as of March 31, 2021, directly and through its subsidiaries, 615,599 GBL shares representing 0.38% of the capital issued and valued at EUR 54 million. This authorization was 20.61% executed as of March 31, 2021.

ESG: clear 2025-2030 commitments

In March 2021, GBL's Board of Directors approved the group's 2025-2030 ESG commitments. Climate change, diversity, transparency and the promotion of access to sustainable finance are firmly at the heart of these commitments, which have been formulated to ensure their follow-up and evaluation over time.

As a responsible investor, we support the recognition of the Paris Agreement signed as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the goal to keep the temperature increase below 2° Celsius by 2050. We are committed to continue to work with our portfolio companies to define and implement strategies that pave the way for carbon neutrality. In 2021, we will formalize our commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to ensure that by 2030, all our portfolio companies have their own SBTi (www.sciencebasedtargets.org) commitments in place.

Press release May 6, 2021 // Page 4 / 15 // For more information: www.gbl.be

1.2. Net asset value

As of March 31, 2021, GBL's net asset value amounts to EUR 21.1 billion (EUR 130.70 per share) compared to EUR 20.5 billion (EUR 127.03 per share) at year-end 2020, i.e. an increase of 2.9% (EUR 3.67 per share). Relative to the stock price of EUR 88.26, the discount as of end March 2021 stands at 32.5%, a 2.6% decrease compared to year-end 2020.

		March 31, 2021		December 31, 2020
% in	Stock	(EUR million)	% in	Stock	(EUR million)
capital	price 1	capital	price 1

Listed assets			17,485.4			17,574.3
adidas	6.84	266.20	3,650.8	6.84	297.90	4,085.6
SGS	18.93	2,681	3,468.0	18.93	2,670	3,539.5
Pernod Ricard	7.60	160.05	3,183.9	7.60	156.80	3,119.2
Umicore	18.02	45.23	2,007.9	18.02	39.29	1,744.2
Imerys	54.64	41.52	1,926.9	54.64	38.66	1,794.2
Holcim	5.77	55.54	1,783.8	7.57	48.62	2,099.9
Mowi	7.01	212.20	769.1	5.85	191.00	551.7
GEA	8.51	34.95	536.7	8.51	29.28	449.7
Ontex	19.98	8.98	147.8	19.98	11.00	181.0
Total	0.01	39.78	10.6	0.01	35.30	9.4

Private assets		1,565.2		1,150.2
Webhelp	61.18	1,110.3	61.45	1,043.8
Canyon	51.87 2	348.6	-	-
Parques Reunidos	23.00	106.3	23.00	106.3
Sienna Capital		2,477.6		2,521.1
Other		117.0		94.0
Portfolio		21,645.2		21,339.5
Treasury shares		807.2		721.4
Gross debt		(2,785.8)		(2,285.8)
Cash/cash equivalents/trading		1,423.2		722.7
Net asset value (global)		21,089.9		20,497.9
Net asset value (EUR p.s.) 3		130.70		127.03
Stock price (EUR p.s.)		88.26		82.52
Discount		32.5%		35.0%

1. Closing stock price in EUR except for SGS and Holcim in CHF and Mowi in NOK
2. GBL's ownership in Canyon, via its 86.45% ownership alongside co-investors in GfG Capital, which itself holds 60.00% in the acquisition vehicle; GBL's ownership excluding shares held by Sienna Capital (additional indirect ownership of 1.45%)
3. Based on 161,358,287 shares

Press release May 6, 2021 // Page 5 / 15 // For more information: www.gbl.be