Group Management Report Products Safety and Health Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 61
property, plant and equipment was below that of depre-
ciation and amortization. Positive exchange-rate effects contributed
to an increase in the carrying amounts in the
Group currency, the euro, in both areas.
Total non-current assets amounted to € 2,143.3 million
at the balance sheet date (previous year: € 2,070.5 mil-
lion), up € 72.8 million on the previous year. Their share of
total assets decreased to 59 % (2020: 63 %).
The change in current assets was mainly due to the
increase in inventories and trade accounts receivable. On the
one hand, the value of inventories rose as a result of price
increases and, on the other, the volume of inventories was
deliberately increased in the second half of 2021 to compensate
for supply bottlenecks and to secure the required
volumes, particularly in the BYK and ECKART divisions.
As a result of the higher sales volume, trade receivables also
rose. Due to these effects, net working capital was significantly
higher in absolute terms than in the previous year.
Inventories increased to € 511.5 million (previous year:
€ 336.4 million). At € 473.4 million, trade receivables were
also higher than in the previous year (2020: € 400.5 million).
In the balance with current liabilities, net working capital,
at € 737.1 million, was well above the level of 2020
(€ 550.3 million). The scope of net working capital, in relation
to the business development in each of the preceding
three months, rose to 118 days, compared with 101 days at
the end of 2020. Absolute net working capital as well as
the scope were thus higher than the figures expected for
2021, as neither the increase in sales nor the supply bot-
tlenecks arising in the course of the year could have been
forecast at the beginning of the year. Cash and cash equiv-
alents decreased in the course of the year to € 259.9 million
(previous year: € 313.7 million). The decrease is mainly
due to money market investments made in 2021 with a
contractual term of more than three months and less
than one year amounting to € 63.8 million. Total current
assets climbed to € 1,492.7 million (previous year:
€ 1,192.6 million).
Structure of consolidated balance sheet
Assets Dec. 31, 2020 Dec. 31, 2021
€ million % € million %
Non-current assets 2,070.5 63 2,143.3 59
Inventories, trade accounts receivable and other current assets 849.0 26 1,134.2 31
Cash, short-term financial assets, and cash equivalents and
marketable securities 343.6 11 358.5 10
Total assets 3,263.1 100 3,636.0 100
Shareholders’ equity and liabilities Dec. 31, 2020 Dec. 31, 2021
€ million % € million %
Shareholders’ equity 2,398.9 73 2,675.4 74
Non-current liabilities 445.7 14 432.5 12
Current liabilities 418.5 13 528.2 14
Total shareholders’ equity and liabilities 3,263.1 100 3,636.0 100