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Management Report / Financial Situation / 41
The first-time full consolidation of akf group consequently led to an increase in personnel costs of 4 percent.
Although there was a significant reduction in expenditure for retirement pensions on account of the risk
provisions for pension obligations already made in the previous year, wages and salaries increased in
accordance with the number of staff working at the various divisions, thus resulting in a slight decrease in
personnel costs in comparison with the previous year even without akf group.
Financial Situation
Politicians, central banks and financial markets were increasingly forced to come to terms with the debt
crisis of individual member states of the eurozone throughout the past year. Global share markets developed
positively from the point of view of a euro investor, something that was however mainly attributable
to the currency effect and thereby to the weakening of the euro. The interest rate for German bonds fell
to a historical low, whereas bonds issued by the so-called “PIIGS” reflected a much higher rate of interest.
The Vorwerk Group (without akf group) took advantage of the developments on the financial markets to
slightly enhance its global position in equity investments and to adjust its regional position. The proportion of
alternative investment strategies was also extended in order to stabilise earnings and cash flow objectives.
In turn, the good development in investments in securities with fixed interest rates could be used to realise
earnings and to greatly reduce the financial obligations from the sales proceeds. Our external financial
obligations were thereby reduced to 43 million euros. This amount will eventually become due for payment
in the first two months of the 2011 business year.
Overall, the Vorwerk Group managed to achieve a result that is well above plan when considering the
realised as well as unrealised earnings from financial management. To be able to better and more efficiently
control the risks involved in the financial activities, attention was focused on a centralisation of the cash
holdings, the management of currency and raw material risks and Group-wide cash management.
akf group is made up of a banking operation and a leasing sector. Active business transactions were
refinanced with matching maturities as in previous years. Besides the classic form of refinancing using
bank loans, a revolving ABCP programme and a similarly open-ended ABS bond continued to be used for
refinancing purposes in the year under review with new receivables being sold. These receivables
continue to be managed by akf bank.
Refinancing in the leasing sector is mainly effected through the forfeiture of leasing receivables falling due
in the future to third-party banks – with which general agreements exist with respect to the purchase of
such receivables – and through short and medium-term bank loans.