Merck 2014 Annual Report Download - page 201

196 CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS → Notes to the Group accounts
the elimination of positions in order to create a leaner and more
efficient organization. Of the recognized asset impairments, an
amount of €4.5 million (2013: €35.7 million) was attributable to
the program, which resulted in total expenses of €84.0 million
(2013: €166.2 million) for the “Fit for 2018” program.
Acquisition costs amounting to €24.5million (2013: €0.0mil-
lion) were incurred for the acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials
S.A., Luxembourg, as well as for the proposed acquisition of the
Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, USA.
Other operating expenses also include special environmental pro-
tection costs as well as personnel expenses not allocable to the
functional areas, for example costs of the works council.
Income from the release of provisions for litigation in fiscal
2014 amounted to €260.3 million (2013: €50.4 million) and was
mainly attributable to the settlement of the legal dispute with
Israel Bio-Engineering Project Limited Partnership (IBEP).
The breakdown of other operating expenses and income by
division is presented in the Segment Reporting (see Note [51]).
(31) FINANCIAL RESULT
€ million 2014 2013
Interest income and similar income 30.6 30.1
Interest expenses and similar expenses –162.4 –176.6
Interest component from currency hedging transactions – 5.1 –17.2
Interest result – 136.9 – 163.7
Interest component of the additions to pension provisions and other non-current provisions – 55.2 – 54.2
Currency differences from financing activities –13.0 – 4.3
Result from financial investments 0.1 –
– 205.0 – 222.2
The financial result improved year-on-year mainly as a result of
lower interest expenses and a reduced interest component from
currency hedging transactions. The higher interest expenses in
2013 included expenses for a bond that was repaid in September
2013.
These lower interest expenses were partially offset by financing
costs in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Sigma-
Aldrich Corporation, USA. The interest component from currency
hedging transactions compared to the previous year was mainly
due to savings resulting from the establishment of a U.S. dollar
in-house bank as this led to a significant decline in the nominal
value of existing currency hedging transactions.
Currency differences from financial investments were mainly
the result of expenses for premiums on options entered into to
hedge intragroup transactions in foreign currency.