Operational Expenditure (OpEx)

According to Article 8 Delegated Act, the OpEx KPI is defined as eligible and aligned OpEx (numerator) divided by total OpEx (denominator). Total OpEx for this purpose includes non-capitalised direct costs related to research and development, building renovation measures, short-term leases, maintenance and repairs, and any other direct expenditure related to the day-to-day servicing of assets of property, plant and equipment by the undertaking or third parties to whom activities are outsourced that are necessary to ensure the continued and effective functioning of such assets. Operating costs related to the low-value lease of assets or contracts with variable lease payments are not included.

Also in accordance with the Delegated Act and considering the guidelines issued by the European Commission, an entity is exempt from calculating the OpEx KPI numerator where the denominator is considered non-material to the business model.

We are of the opinion that total OpEx, as shown in the table above, is not material to our activity, since it accounts only for 0.4% of total operational expenditure in 2023, given that we do not incur significant operational expenses for research and development under IAS 38, nor are the amounts incurred with asset maintenance and repair and short-term leases significant. As such, we have opted to avail ourselves of the foregoing exemption and not calculate the OpEx KPI numerator.