Net Assets and Financial Position
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The Group’s balance sheet total increased by 1.0% to € 16.5 billion as against the end of 2007. The changes in the consolidated balance sheet essentially resulted from the business cycle in tourism. The Group’s net assets and financial position were also affected by the acquisitions and divestments (see section ‘Acquisitions – divestments’ in the notes).
Assets and liabilities
| € million | 31 Mar 2008 | 31 Dec 2007 | Var. % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-current assets | 8,408.7 | 11,507.6 | - 26.9 |
| Current assets | 8,052.9 | 4,796.6 | + 67.9 |
| Assets | 16,461.6 | 16,304.2 | + 1.0 |
| Equity | 2,717.8 | 3,124.2 | - 13.0 |
| Provisions | 1,769.4 | 2,442.5 | - 27.6 |
| Financial liabilities | 5,121.5 | 5,540.2 | - 7.6 |
| Other liabilities | 6,852.9 | 5,197.3 | + 31.9 |
| Liabilities | 16,461.6 | 16,304.2 | + 1.0 |
Non-current assets
As at 31 March 2008, non-current assets accounted for 51.1% of total assets, compared with a share of 70.6% as at 31 December 2007. Non-current assets declined from € 11.5 billion to € 8.4 billion in the period under review. This decrease was mainly attributable to the reclassification of the container shipping assets held for sale to current assets.
Current assets
As at 31 March 2008, current assets accounted for 48.9% of total assets, up from 29.4% as at 31 December 2007. Current assets rose from € 4.8 billion as at 31 December 2007 to € 8.1 billion as at 31 March 2008. This increase was primarily attributable to the reclassification of the container shipping assets held for sale to current assets.
Equity
Equity totalled € 2.7 billion as at 31 March 2008. The equity ratio stood at 16.5%, compared with 19.2% at the end of the 2007 financial year. Detailed information on the changes is provided under ‘Changes in equity’ in the notes to this interim report.
Provisions
Provisions mainly comprised provisions for pension obligations, effective and deferred tax provisions and provisions for typical operating risks. As at 31 March 2008, they totalled € 1.8 billion and were thus € 0.7 million or 27.6% down on their level as at 31 December 2007. This was mainly due to a significant decrease in pension provisions due to the increase in the long-term interest rate level in the UK.
Financial liabilities
As at 31 March 2008, financial liabilities comprised non-current financial liabilities of € 4.3 billion and current financial liabilities of € 0.9 billion. As at 31 December 2007, non-current assets stood at € 4.7 billion, with current financial liabilities of € 0.8 billion. At the end of the first quarter of the 2008 financial year, net debt totalled € 3.5 billion (down from € 3.9 billion as at the end of the 2007 financial year).
Other liabilities
As at 31 March 2008, other liabilities stood at € 6.9 billion, up € 1.7 billion or 31.9% as against 31 December 2007. This was mainly due to the increase in advance payments received in the tourism business.