Mercedes 2006 Annual Report Download - page 80

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the proposed dividend distribution for the 2006 financial year
(€1.5 billion), remained almost unchanged at 17.2% (2005: 17.3%).
The equity ratio for the industrial business amounted to 25.1%
(2005: 24.8%). Revised accounting regulations for pensions and
similar obligations negatively impacted the equity ratios by 3.3
and 5.9 percentage points respectively.
The €0.4 billion decrease in accrued liabilities to €46.3 billion
was primarily due to a decrease in other accrued liabilities, which
at €23.9 billion were €3.9 billion lower than at the end of the
prior year. This was mainly caused by currency effects as well as
a decrease in accruals for product warranties and negative
market values of derivative financial instruments. Offsetting this
decrease was the aforementioned increase in accruals for
pensions and similar obligations.
The Group’s financial liabilities, which primarily serve to refinance
the leasing and sales-financing business, amounted to €78.5
billion at the balance sheet date (2005: €80.9 billion). Adjusted
for currency translation effects, this item increased by €2.2
billion.
Trade liabilities decreased from €14.6 billion to €13.7 billion
due to currency effects.
The decrease in other liabilities of €1.3 billion to €7.8 billion
resulted primarily from severance payments and decreased
liabilities for social benefits due.
As a result of higher advance rental payments, deferred income
adjusted for currency effects increased by €0.7 billion. This
increase primarily resulted from the financial services business.
At the balance sheet date, 38% of all assets (2005: 37%) and 40%
of all liabilities (2005: 43%) had a maturity of less than one year.
As of December 31, 2006, the capital stock of DaimlerChrysler
AG amounted to €2.7 billion. It is divided into 1,028,163,751
no-par-value registered shares. All shares have the same rights.
Each share has one vote and is the basis for a share in the
company’s profits. The authorization of the Board of Management
to issue new shares or to repurchase existing shares is described
in Note 22 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The funded status of the Group’s pension obligations
improved compared with the prior year from being underfunded
by €7.2 billion to being underfunded by €2.3 billion.
On the balance-sheet date, the Group’s pension obligations
amounted to €37.5 billion, compared with €41.5 billion at the
end of the prior year. The decrease was primarily a result of
currency-translation effects of €2.7 billion and the increase in
discount rates for pension plans of 0.5 of a percentage point
to 4.5% for German plans and of 0.3 of a percentage point to 5.7%
for non-German plans. The plan assets available to finance the
pension obligations increased from €34.3 billion to €35.2 billion.
The decrease of €2.5 billion due to currency translation was
more than offset by the gains realized in 2006 on the German and
non-German plan assets of €1.0 billion and €3.3 billion respectively
and by contributions to the plan assets of €1.2 billion
(2005: €1.7 billion).
The funded status of the other postretirement benefit
obligations amounted to minus €14.1 billion as of December 31,
2006, compared with minus €15.8 billion at the end of the
prior year.
The obligations totaled €16.0 billion on the balance-sheet date
(2005: €17.7 billion). €1.7 billion of the decrease was mainly due to
the effects of currency translation. The other changes resulted
from the normal annual increase less payments to beneficiaries.
Other postretirement benefit obligations were covered by plan
assets of €1.9 billion (2005: €1.9 billion).
The funded status of the pension obligations and the other
postretirement benefit obligations is fully recognized in the
consolidated balance sheet following the first adoption of the
new FASB standard 158 effective December 31, 2006.
Additional information on pension plans and similar obligations
can be found in Note 24a of the Notes to the Consolidated
Financial Statements.
Balance sheet structure industrial business
(in billions of €)
2006
10%
11%
14%
17%
12%
36%
12%
17%
14%
12%
9%
36%
95 102
4%
26%
45%
26%
47%
27%
0%
25%
95102
2005 2005 2006
Property, plant and
equipment
Stockholders’ equity
and minority interests
Accrued liabilities
Liabilities
Other fixed assets
Inventories
Receivables
Liquidity
Other assets Other liabilities