Group Management Report Products Safety and Health Environment Human Resources Social Commitment Consolidated Financial Statements 63
In the course of 2021, cash and cash equivalents decreased
by € 53.7 million to € 259.9 million (previous year: € 313.7
million). At € 244.4 million, the cash inflow from operating
activities was below the previous year’s level (€ 373.6 million),
despite higher consolidated net income. This reflects
the high level of capital tied up in net working capital, in
particular the sharp rise in inventories.
Cash outflow from investment activities increased in the
reporting year to € 246.8 million (previous year: € 220.0
million). The main reason was the increase in the portfolio of
current financial assets. Expenditure on acquisitions in
2021 was at a lower level than in 2020 and investments in
intangible assets and property, plant and equipment adjusted
for acquisitions were at roughly the same level as in 2020.
Cash flow from financing activities amounted to
€ 61.3 million in the 2021 fiscal year – less than in the previous
year (€ 99.9 million). The current debt outflows
almost exclusively concerned lease payments. In the 2021
fiscal year, ALTANA AG paid a dividend amounting to
€ 50.0 million (previous year: € 30.0 million).
Value Management
ALTANA determines the change in the company’s value via
the key figure ALTANA Value Added (AVA), whose calcula-
tion is explained in the “Group Basics” section. In the 2021
fiscal year, thanks to the strong growth in connection
with measures to secure profitability and despite challenging
framework conditions, a clearly positive contribution to
the development of our company’s value was generated,
which was significantly higher than in the previous year
and exceeded our expectations.
The positive earnings trend is reflected in decisive op-
erating earnings of € 297.4 million (previous year: € 246.1
million). The Group’s average capital employed increased
to € 3,082.5 million in 2021 (previous year: € 2,928.7 million).
The cost of capital remained unchanged at 7.5 %,
resulting in a cost of capital of € 231.2 million (previous year:
€ 219.6 million).
At 9.6 %, the return on capital employed (ROCE)
significantly exceeded the prior-year figure (8.4 %). Absolute
value added totaled € 66.2 million in the past fiscal year,
compared to € 26.5 million the year before, and relative AVA
rose from 0.9 % to 2.1 % in 2021. The decline in the
value management key figures originally forecast for 2021
was avoided due to the very good development of the
earnings situation.
Key figures value management
2020 2021
in € million
Operating capital (annual average) 2,928.7 3,082.5
Operating earnings 246.1 297.4
Return on capital employed (ROCE) 8.4 % 9.6 %
Weighted average cost of capital 7.5 % 7.5 %
ALTANA
Value Added (relative AVA) 0.9 % 2.1 %
ALTANA
Value Added (absolute AVA) 26.5 66.2