Group Management Report Products Safety and Health Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 61
liabilities, which sank in the course of the corporate tax
reform in the U.S. The share of total non-current debt
dropped from 18 % to 15 %. The amount of current debt
on the balance sheet increased from € 407.5 million to
€ 446.9 million on December 31, 2017. This development
was due to the expansion of liabilities from trade accounts
payable on account of the expansion of business activity
and the increase in current debt in the course of the re-
classification of the promissory note tranches due in 2018
(€ 64 million).
The net financial debt, comprising the balance of cash
and cash equivalents, short-term financial assets, current
marketable securities, loans granted, debt, and employee
benefit obligations, reached € 78.0 million at the end of
2017, after net financial assets of € 25.7 million were dis-
closed in the previous year.
Principles and Goals of Our Financing Strategy
We generally aim to finance our operating business activities
from the cash flow from operating activities. The same
applies to the need for capital expenditure, which caters to
the continual expansion of business activities.
As a result, our financing strategy is oriented to keeping
the cash and cash equivalents generated within the Group
centralized. In addition, a financing framework is sought that
enables ALTANA to flexibly and quickly carry out acquisi-
tions and even large investment projects beyond the accus-
tomed scope.
To successfully implement these goals, we manage nearly
all of the Group’s internal financing centrally via ALTANA AG.
To this end, cash pools are set up for all of the important cur-
rency areas.
At the end of 2017, ALTANA’s liabilities totaled € 192 mil-
lion due to the issuance of two promissory note loans in
2012 and 2013 (€ 350 million in total). The outstanding prom-
issory note loans are divided into tranches with fixed inter-
est rates and different maturities. The loans will be repaid by
2020. Furthermore, there is a general syndicated credit
facility of € 250 million. The term of this credit facility will last
until 2022.
This financing structure offers ALTANA the flexibility it
needs to appropriately take advantage of short-term or
investment-intensive growth opportunities. The distribution
of the maturities of the financing instruments we use en-
ables us to optimally control repayment of liabilities with in-
flows from operating cash flow.
We continue to use off-balance-sheet financing instruments
to a very limited extent. These include purchasing
commitments, operating leasing commitments, and guarantees
for pension plans. Details on the existing financing
instruments are provided in the online Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Liquidity Analysis
Key figures
2016 2017 Δ %
in € million
Cash flow from
operating activities 376.7 302.3 - 20
Cash flow from
investing activities - 234.3 - 325.1 - 39
Cash flow from
financing activities - 185.4 - 67.4 64
In the course of 2017, the level of cash and cash equiva-
lents fell by € 99.9 million to € 275.7 million (previous year:
€ 375.6 million). Cash inflow from operating activities,
amounting to € 302.3 million, did not reach the previous year’s
level (€ 376.7 million). The decrease in operating cash flow
vis-à-vis 2016 resulted from an increase in net working capital
in the course of the strong expansion of business activity.
On the other hand, the higher consolidated net income was
influenced by non-cash earnings components (primarily
in the area of income tax positions and provisions). The lower