6.5 Staff costs, depreciation, and research and development expenses

6.5a Staff costs

Staff costs included in the statement of profit or loss are broken down as follows:

x € 1,000

2023

2022

Wages and salaries

-379,932

-337,053

Compulsory social insurance contributions

-57,296

-50,277

Defined-contribution plans

-38,312

-35,939

Defined-benefit plans and long-service payments

-2,152

265

-477,692

-423,004

The statement of profit or loss includes an amount of approximately € 3 million (2022: € 2 million) relating to reorganisation provisions.

The staff costs are included in the cost of sales, administrative expenses and selling expenses.

6.5b Number of employees

At year-end 2023, the number of employees stood at a total of 5,487 (including 213 Van Wanrooij employees) (2022: 5,071, excluding Van Wanrooij employees).

6.5c Depreciation

Depreciation and amortisation recognised in the statement of profit or loss is broken down as follows:

x € 1,000

2023

2022

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

-12,452

-11,674

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

-29,163

-24,406

Amortisation of intangible assets

-4,337

-4,821

-45,952

-40,901

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets is included in the cost of sales and administrative expenses.

Amortisation of intangible assets is recognised under other operating expenses.

6.5d Research & development costs

The costs for research and development recognised in the statement of profit or loss are:

x € 1,000

2023

2022

Research & development costs

-11,791

-10,375

Research and development costs pertain primarily to digitalisation and industrialisation. Project work also involves research and development activities, which are reflected in the cost of sales. The costs relating to these activities are not included in the figures stated above.