Annual report 2008 - Altarea Cogedim

6. Information about
the Company
ALTAREA is a partnership limited by shares (Société en
Commandite par Actions, “SCA”) whose shares are admitted
to trading on the Eurolist regulated market of Euronext
Paris SA (compartment A). Its head office is at 108, rue de
Richelieu in Paris.
ALTAREA has had the status of a listed property investment
company (Société d’Investissement Immobilier Cotée,
“SIIC”) since 1 January 2005.
ALTAREA and its subsidiaries (“ALTAREA” or “the Group”)
are in the business of owning shopping centre properties.
This activity includes the asset and property management
functions, which are performed internally within the Group.
ALTAREA is also active as a property developer in the shopping
centre sector, and it is a significant player in property
development for third parties. ALTAREA thus operates in all
real estate asset classes (shopping centres, offices, hotels
and housing). The shopping centre development business
is conducted for its own account and is intended to sustain
growth in its owned shopping centre property business.
ALTAREA enjoys a close relationship with local authorities.
At its meeting on 27 March 2009, ALTAREA’s Supervisory
Board reviewed the consolidated financial statements for
the year ended 31 December 2008 as drawn up by the
Managers.
7. Accounting
policies
7.1 Declaration of compliance and
accounting standards applied by the Group
The accounting principles adopted for preparation of the
consolidated financial statements are in line with the
IFRS standards and interpretations, as adopted by the
European Union at 31 December 2008 and available
at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/accounting/ias_
fr.htm#adopted-commission
The IFRS as adopted by the European Union do not
differ from the IFRS as published by the IASB insofar as
application of the following standards and interpretations,
the date of first-time adoption scheduled by the IASB is set
for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2008 and
which were not in force in the European Union at this date,
either have no impact on the financial statements of the
ALTAREA group or were applied early:
– IFRIC 12 – Service Concession Arrangements. The Group
adopted this interpretation early for the financial year ended
31 December 2007 in connection with the acquisition of a
shareholding in Semmaris.
– IFRIC 11 – “IFRS 2 - Group and Treasury Share Transactions”,
which was endorsed by the EU in 2007 with a deferred firsttime
adoption date of financial years beginning on or after
1 January 2009. This interpretation clarifies the recognition
by a subsidiary of payments in the parent company’s own
equity instruments through purchases of treasury shares.
This interpretation had no impact on the Group’s financial
statements.
– IFRIC 14 – IAS 19 – “The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset,
Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction”,
which was endorsed by the EU in December 2008, but
with a deferred date for mandatory adoption in the EU of
financial years beginning on or after 31 December 2008.
This interpretation is not applicable to the Group.
7.2 Changes in accounting policies since
1 January 2008
• Recent standards, amendments and interpretations anticipated
in the 2007 financial statements
– IFRS 8 – Operating Segments: for the financial year
ended 31 December 2007, the Group decided to apply
this standard approved by the European Union early. Note
7.3.1. “Operating Segments” to the financial statements
deals with application of this standard.
– Amendment to the revised IAS 23 “Borrowing costs”:
this standard removes the option for borrowing costs to
be expensed. Application of IAS 23 (revised in 2007)
has no impact because the Group has always applied
the alternative treatment of capitalising borrowing costs
incurred during the construction period of the eligible
asset.
– Interpretation IFRIC 12 –“Service Concession Arrangements”:
this interpretation was adopted for the first time in the
Group’s financial statements for the financial year ended
31 December 2007 for associate interests (see note 10.6 to
the consolidated financial statements for the financial year
ended 31 December 2007).
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