At December 31, 2014, the consolidated net financial position of the Group’s continuing operations amounted to €89.2 million (negative by €210.4 million), while that of the non-current assets held for sale amounted to €81.3 million (negative by €53.9 million). The net financial position also includes the cash and equivalents with non-consolidated SPVs, equal to €65.9 million (€44.5 million). Specifically, this item recognizes the portion of net payables and receivables pertaining to non-controlled consortia and/or consortium companies and operating under a cost recharging system, which corresponds to the Group’s share of cash and cash equivalents or financial debt with SPVs.
At the end of the period, the Net Debt/Equity ratio (based on the Net financial position of continuing operations), on a consolidated basis, was 0.08.
The net financial position for non-current assets held for sale refers to the held-for-sale business units of Todini Costruzioni Generali S.p.A.
The change in the financial position net of the cash resulting from the capital increase (commented previously) and the disposal of equity investments was generated by the investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets made on contracts at the launch stage and the use of cash by operating activities, especially in relation to the increase in working capital. Net financial position was also positively affected by the business units of Todini Costruzioni Generali S.p.A. that were not part of the disposal plan and therefore were recognized in continuing operations in 2014, in accordance with IFRS 5.
Gross debt decreased by €304.4 million compared to December 31, 2013, and amounted to €1,426.9 million.
Lastly, Salini Impregilo provided guarantees in favor of non-consolidated subsidiaries for a total of €312.4 million against loans granted by banks and lending institutions.
The group’s net financial position at December 31, 2014 is summarized in the following table.
Tab. 3 - Net financial position of the Salini Impregilo Group
| (Amounts in thousands of euros) | Note(*) | December 31, 2014 | December 31, 2013 (§) | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-current financial assets | 4 | 89,124 | 48,909 | 40,215 | |
| Current financial assets | 9 | 156,908 | 303,513 | (146,605) | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 12 | 1,030,925 | 1,127,276 | (96,351) | |
| Total cash and cash equivalents and other financial assets | 1,276,957 | 1,479,698 | (202,741) | ||
| Bank loans and other facilities | 15 | (456,209) | (643,871) | 187,662 | |
| Bond issues | 16 | (394,326) | (552,542) | 158,216 | |
| Finance lease payables | 17 | (102,310) | (109,876) | 7,566 | |
| Total non-current indebtedness | (952,845) | (1,306,289) | 353,444 | ||
| Bank account overdrafts and current portion of financing facilities | 15 | (247,522) | (349,884) | 102,362 | |
| Current portion of bond issues | 16 | (166,292) | (11,154) | (155,138) | |
| Current portion of finance lease payables | 17 | (60,231) | (63,954) | 3,723 | |
| Total current indebtedness | (474,045) | (424,992) | (49,053) | ||
| Derivative assets | 9 | - | 1,016 | (1,016) | |
| Derivative liabilities | 18 | (5,244) | (4,354) | (890) | |
| Net financial assets held by SPVs and unconsolidated project companies (**) | 65,953 | 44,545 | 21,408 | ||
| Total other financial assets (liabilities) | 60,709 | 41,207 | 19,502 | ||
| Total net financial position – continuing operations | (89,224) | (210,376) | 121,152 | ||
| Net financial position for assets held for sale | (81,292) | (53,868) | (27,424) | ||
| Net financial position including non-current assets held for sale | (170,516) | (264,244) | 93,728 |
(*) The note numbers refer to the notes to the consolidated financial statements where the items are analyzed in detail.
(**) This item recognizes the portion of net payables and receivables pertaining to consortia and/or consortium companies over which no entity has control and operating under a cost recharging system, which corresponds to the Group’s share of cash and cash equivalents or financial debt with SPVs. In the financial statements, the balances are included in Trade Receivables.