IBERSOL | Annual Report 2021

ANNUAL REPORT 2021 Outlooks 2022 is expected to be another very challenging year, with high levels of uncertainty. Besides the uncertainty linked to recovery of the effects of the pan- demic, global geopolitical tension, due to the military conflict in Ukraine, led to a worsening of inflation levels in food, energy, and transport. Recent IMF forecasts point to a growth of 4% of GDP in Portugal, and 4.8% in Spain, which indicates a slower recovery than previously pre- dicted. In this context, staying the course of economic recovery is directly linked to the recovery of global confidence levels amongst consumers, both from a health and safety perspective, and of available income. Despite the slowing of the recovery pace in the first quarter of 2022 – due to the Omicron strain in January, and because of the impact of the Ukrainian conflict on consumers’ trust in March – forecasts for 2022 are still positive, and up to the present date there has already been a steep increase in population mobility, which foreshadows a swifter recovery in regions with high tourism demand. Boosting our balance was crucial in the context of the pandemic, and the Ibersol Group believes that it is now better positioned to face up- coming challenges, so as to minimise the impacts of the economic con- text and to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, customers, staff, suppliers, investors, and civil society. For 2022 we expect to continue the plans to open new restaurants of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell brands. 219