GEA : Letter of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board

Annual General Meeting

Fiscal year 2022

Letter from Prof. Dieter Kempf, Chairman of the Supervisory Board

March 16, 2023

Dear Shareholders,

GEA can proudly look back on a very successful fiscal year 2022 despite many challenges caused by the war in Ukraine, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and global inflation. I would like to expressly thank the Executive Board and all employees who made this extraordinary success possible. The consistent implementation of the seven levers of our "Mission 26" strategy has been instrumental in improving on GEA's key performance indicators in the current environment: Revenue rose by 9.8 percent to EUR 5.16 billion, and EBITDA before restructuring measures rose by 14 percent to EUR 712 million. As a result, the corresponding EBITDA margin grew by 0.5 percentage points to 13.8 percent, and the return on capital employed (ROCE) also improved significantly to 31.8 percent. Based on these great figures, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting a dividend payment of EUR 0.95 per share, an increase of 5 cents over the previous year.

Corporate Governance Roadshow

For GEA, communication with our shareholders is an important element in the advancement of successful corporate governance. It is also important to me personally. That is why I took the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with numerous shareholder representatives of GEA as part of a corporate governance roadshow at the end of January 2023. It allowed me to address several important upcoming issues and to obtain direct feedback for future decisions. We approached shareholders representing approximately 64% of GEA's share capital in order to obtain the broadest possible range of opinions. I was especially pleased with the positive feedback on the development of our sustainability strategy and how it was implemented in the supervisory bodies and in the remuneration of the Executive Board. We also tackled current topics such as GEA's risk management configuration in the context of the war in Ukraine and the potential continuation of virtual annual general meetings after the end of the COVID-19 measures.

Virtual Annual General Meeting

The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board jointly decided to hold the Annual General Meeting in virtual form this year. We made this decision only after careful consideration. However, after thoroughly deliberating the pros and cons, we have come to the conclusion that the virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) is the right format for us this year. Unlike the virtual AGMs in 2020

2 / 5

and 2021 when the COVID-19 measures were in force, the legal situation in Germany applicable to the 2023 AGM season entails no restrictions on shareholder rights, regardless of whether the AGM is held in person or virtually. In due course, we will decide which format we will choose next year. We will base this decision in part on the experiences this year, in particular the extent to which you, our shareholders, endorse the virtual Annual General Meeting format.

Election of Supervisory Board member

Since I was not appointed as a member of the Supervisory Board by court order until after last year's Annual General Meeting, I am nominating myself for election at this year's Annual General Meeting. In the interests of continuity in the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board, the latter has decided to propose to you a term of office extending until the Annual General Meeting in 2026. This ensures that I have the opportunity to chair the Supervisory Board for a full term of four years, considering my court appointment last year. Since the current Articles of Association of the company would only permit my election for another term of two years, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board have also jointly decided to amend the provision in the Articles of Association governing supplementary elections to allow for an election for a longer term. This will also give the Annual General Meeting greater flexibility in the future to set the term of office of the Supervisory Board members they elect, which is not to exceed four years. This flexibility opens up the possibility of ensuring continuity in the composition of the Supervisory Board in the company's best interests, in keeping with the expectation of many shareholders that elections take place on a regular basis.

Changes to Supervisory Board remuneration

Another item on the agenda that I would like to explain in advance of the Annual General Meeting is the change in the remuneration of Supervisory Board members. The remuneration for Supervisory Board members has remained unchanged since 2011 and no longer reflects the increased demands on Supervisory Board members in terms of their time and effort. In order to be able to continue to attract qualified candidates for the Supervisory Board of GEA in the future, the Supervisory Board has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting a moderate adjustment of the terms of remuneration. We have ensured that the terms are appropriate based on a market comparison. In this context, the Supervisory Board also decided to recommend that its members enter into a voluntary commitment. The commitment stipulates that each Supervisory Board member must use 25% of his or her Supervisory Board remuneration to purchase shares in the company in the first four years of membership

3 / 5

respectively in the first four years upon introduction of the commitment, starting with the remuneration for 2023. They must also hold these shares for the duration of the Supervisory Board mandate. However, this will only apply if the Supervisory Board remuneration is not paid to third parties, which serves, in particular, to satisfy the interests of the employee representatives. Our goal is to increase the commitment and connection of Supervisory Board members with the company and send a strong signal to investors. In the future, the number of shares held by members of the Supervisory Board will be disclosed in the remuneration report.

Share buyback program

GEA successfully completed its second share buyback program amounting to a total of around EUR 300 million at the end of last year. Around 8.16 million treasury shares were acquired in total. GEA was the first company in Germany to combine its share buyback program with sustainability initiatives. To this end, GEA entered into a three-year partnership with the non-profit organization Viva con Agua, which campaigns for access to clean drinking water. GEA used part of the guaranteed outperformance of the share buyback program to donate EUR 250,000 for a rainwater collection system in Tanzania that will provide clean water to three schools and other facilities. The nets and cisterns that are part of the rainwater collection system will be built this year.

Outlook 2023

Based on its strong positioning and robust business model, GEA is also optimistic about the current fiscal year. The company expects organic revenue growth of more than 5 percent and EBITDA before restructuring measures (at constant exchange rates) of between EUR 730 million and EUR 790 million. At the same time, GEA is aiming for another increase in the EBITDA margin before restructuring measures with the hope of exceeding 13.8 percent. Needless to say, as part of our "Mission 26" strategy, we are continuing to work this year on achieving our ambitious targets for 2026 and 2030. Furthermore, we are introducing a new green label this year called "Add Better," which will identify product solutions that are significantly more resource efficient.

4 / 5

I look forward to continuing to be in close contact with you and hope for a lively turnout at our Annual General Meeting on April 27, 2023.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Prof. Dieter Kempf

5 / 5