2012 Annual Report - Italcementi Group

2012 Annual Report
Presentation 4
General information 14
Annual Report Consolidated Annual Report Directors’ report 146
Sustainability disclosure Italcementi S.p.A. Annual Report Separate financial statements 241
Extraordinary session 351
1.4. General policies
Subsidiaries and associates
Subsidiaries are companies in which the company has the power to determine, directly or indirectly,
administrative and management decisions and to obtain the benefits thereof. Generally speaking, control is
assumed to exist when the company holds, directly or indirectly, more than one half of voting rights, including
potential voting rights deriving from convertible securities. Associates are companies in which the company
has significant influence over administrative and management decisions even though it does not hold control.
Generally speaking, significant influence is assumed to exist when the company holds, directly or indirectly, at
least 20% of shareholder’s agreements or, even if it holds a lower percentage of voting rights, when it is
entitled to take part in financial and management policy decisions by virtue of a specific juridical status
including, but not limited to, participation in voting trusts or other forms of material exercise of rights of
governance
Investments in subsidiaries and associates are measured using the cost method, whereby they are initially
recognized at cost and subsequently adjusted to reflect changes in amount whenever, after impairment testing,
conditions are found such as to make it necessary to adjust the carrying amount to the effective amount of the
investment. Original cost is restored in subsequent periods if the grounds for the adjustments no longer exist.
Impairment losses and reversals are reflected in the income statement.
Joint ventures
Joint ventures are companies whose business operations are controlled by the company jointly with one or
more other parties, under contractual arrangements. Joint control presupposes that strategic, financial and
management decisions are taken with the unanimous consent of the parties that control the venture.
Interests in joint ventures are measured on a cost basis and, as with investments in subsidiaries and
associates, this amount is subject to periodic impairment testing.
They are included in investments in subsidiaries or associates as from the date on which joint control is
assumed and until such control is relinquished.
Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations
Assets and liabilities held for sale and discontinued operations are classified as such when their carrying
amount is recovered chiefly through sale rather than through continuing use; such operations must be an
important autonomous business operation or geographical area of operation.
The conditions indicated are deemed to exist when the sale is considered highly likely and the assets and
liabilities are immediately available for sale in their current condition.
Held-for-sale assets are recognized at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell.
Once property, plant and equipment and intangible assets have been classified as held-for-sale, no further
amortization and depreciation may be applied.
In the income statement, profit (loss) relating to discontinued operations, together with profit or loss from fair
value measurement net of costs to sell and profit or loss arising from the sale of the operation, are reflected in
a single item separately from profit (loss) relating to continuing operations.
Cash flows relating to discontinued operations are shown separately in the statement of cash flows.
A similar disclosure is also presented for the comparative period.
1.5. Business combinations
On first-time adoption of the IFRS, as allowed by IFRS 1, the company elected not to apply IFRS 3
retrospectively to business combinations that took place before 1 January 2004.
Until December 31, 2009, business combinations were accounted for with the purchase method in IFRS 3.
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