Annual Report 2009/10 Excellence in Retailing - Douglas Holding

lining, which had a liquidity effect in the reporting period. In addition, capital employed
in inventories declined by 19.9 million EUR.
The net cash outflow for investing activities increased by 50.8 million EUR to 158.0 million
EUR in the 2009/10 fiscal year. This was the result of the acquisition of buch.de shares
and minority shareholdings in two Group companies. The acquisition-related expenditures
therefore rose from 3.4 million EUR to 45.2 million EUR.
The Free Cash Flow generated in the reporting period was largely applied for the dividend
payout of 43.3 million EUR and for the repayment of bank liabilities.
The detailed consolidated cash flow statement of the DOUGLAS Group can be found
on page 118 of this Annual Report.
Improved net assets and capital structure
Total assets increased by 1.5 percent to around 1.7 billion EUR as of September 30, 2010.
This was predominantly due to the first time inclusion of the assets and liabilities of buch.
de in the consolidated financial statements. An offsetting effect came from a decrease in
the working capital balance of 36.9 million EUR to 418.1 million EUR.
The capital structure remains balanced. Non-current assets account for 46.3 percent
of total assets, with non-current capital accounting for 51.3 percent of total equity and liabilities.
Non-current assets were down 6.7 million EUR to 792.1 million EUR as a consequence
of the separate presentation of assets held for sale in the reporting period. This related to
the assets of the Russian subsidiaries OOO Douglas Rivoli and OOO Parfümerie International
Company, each based in Moscow/Russia and Douglas Rivoli Holding B.V. based in
Nijmegen/The Netherlands, which were classified as assets held for sale because the realization
of assets and liabilities arising from their sale was classified as highly probable
as of the balance sheet date. This effect was offset by the assets of buch.de, which were
consolidated for the first time in the year under review.
At 886.8 million EUR, current assets almost matched the prior year’s figure. As a consequence
of the improved working capital management, inventories dropped by 19.9 million
EUR. Accounts receivable and supplier reimbursements only slightly increased despite
the first time inclusion of buch.de in the consolidated financial statements. Cash
and cash equivalents increased from 35.8 million EUR to 51.6 million EUR, representing
3.0 percent of total assets.
As per September 30, 2010, equity totaled 764.8 million EUR compared to 710.9 million
EUR on the previous balance sheet date. The DOUGLAS Group’s equity ratio moved
ahead from 42.1 to 44.6 percent.
Non-current liabilities fell by 15.9 million EUR to 113.8 million EUR as a result of the repayment
of bilateral bank loans. The ratio of non-current liabilities to the balance sheet
total decreased from 7.7 percent to 6.7 percent year-on-year.
The drop in current liabilities by 20.4 million EUR to 827.6 million EUR was predominantly
due to the lower liabilities from minority options, liabilities to minority sharehold-
Management Report
Key results
Business activities and operating environment
Net assets, financial position and result of operations
DOUGLAS HOLDING AG
Subsequent events
Control system and success factors
Opportunities and risks situation
Statutory disclosures
Forecast and overall assessment
118
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
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