Meeting everyday needs of people everywhere - Unilever

Unilever Group Notes to the consolidated accounts
15 Borrowings (continued)
0000§0000000000001111
Fl. million
111050
1999 1998
5 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 § 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 111§1110 1110
Other group companies:
United States
9 1 ⁄4% Notes 2000 (d) 878 749
Other 16 6
Other loans 128 294
1110 1110
Total other group companies 1 022 1 049
1110 1110
Total bonds and other loans 6 002 6 082
1110 1110
Swapped into:
(a) floating rate guilders (range 2.9%-3.2% at 31 December 1999)
(b) floating rate guilders (3.1% at 31 December 1999) and United States dollars (5.8% at 31 December 1999)
(c) floating rate Deutschmarks (3.0% at 31 December 1999) and fixed rate Canadian dollars (6.7%)
(d) floating rate United States dollars (range 5.8%-7.5% at 31December 1999)
(e) floating rate French francs (7.9% at 31 December 1999)
Derivative financial instruments are used to swap portions of the fixed rate debt described above into floating rate debt. Further details
are set out in note 29 on page 88.
The average interest rate on short-term borrowings in 1999 was 9% (1998: 8%).
The day to day financing needs of Unilever’s operating companies are met using short-term overdraft facilities, substantially all of
which are uncommitted. In addition, at 31 December 1999 Unilever had committed borrowing facilities of Fl. 611 million, all of which
mature within one year.
Interest rate profile and currency analysis of financial liabilities
Taking into account the various interest rate swaps, forward rate agreements and forward foreign currency contracts entered into by
the Group, the table below sets out the interest rate profile of the Group’s financial liabilities analysed by principal currency:
00000000000000001111
Fixed rate Floating rate Total
000511100 11150 11150
Weighted Weighted
average average
Fl. million interest rate fixing period Fl. million Fl. million
00000011111111150 11150 11150 11150 11150
1999
US Dollar — — — 3 325 3 325
Euro 106 6.6% 5.5 years 4 523 4 629
Sterling — — — 269 269
Other 529 6.6% 3.0 years 1 801 2 330
11150 11150 11150 11150 11150
Total 635 9 918 10 553
11150 11150 11150
1998
US Dollar 2 063 6.9% 3.5 years 1 861 3 924
Euro 677 7.2% 5.5 years 3 191 3 868
Sterling — — — 66 66
Other 621 7.0% 2.5 years 1 667 2 288
11150 11150 11150 11150 11150
Total 3 361 6 785 10 146
11150 11150 11150
Interest on substantially all of the floating rate financial liabilities above is determined principally by reference to LIBOR.
In addition to the above, the Group has preference shares denominated in guilders, which have no fixed repayment date. Details of the
dividends payable on these preference shares are given in note 20 on page 80.
00000000000000001111