20. Trade creditors, accrued costs and deferred income

Accounting policies

Suppliers and other creditor’s balances are obligations related to goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of the business. They are initially recognised at the fair value and subsequently at the amortised cost, in accordance with the effective interest rate method (note 2.4.2).

Suppliers and other creditors are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business if longer). If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

The current accrued costs (incorporated in the current Accrued costs and deferred Income heading in the table above) total €744 million and include salaries and wages to be paid to the employees, in the amount of €365 million and interest payable of €27 million in additional costs. The remaining €352 million relates to sundry costs (utilities, insurance, consultants, rents, among others) for 2025, which had not been invoiced by the respective entities prior to the end of the year.

As mentioned in note 2.7, some subsidiaries of the Group have entered into confirming protocols with financial institutions, of voluntary adherence by suppliers, which allow them to anticipate the receipt of their invoices to approximately 7 days. The Suppliers heading includes the amount of €1,006 million, already received by suppliers, relating to liabilities covered by these protocols (see note 28.2.2).

These agreements do not expose the Group’s subsidiaries to additional credit risk, nor do they guarantee significant additional benefits regarding payment terms or commercial conditions. As such, the amounts under these protocols continue to be booked as trade credits from suppliers, considering that, in substance, these amounts maintain the characteristics of commercial debt.