DHL 2009 Annual Report Download - page 59

At  , million, net cash used in investing activities was up signi cantly year-on-
year (:   million).  is was mainly due to the sale of properties in  leading
to a   million in ow of funds; in addition, we received interest of   million on
the repayment of  state aid. In contrast, cash paid to acquire non-current assets fell
sharply by  , million to  , million. Amongst other things, we modernised mail
centres and  and maintained our global network of aircra . In the previous year, a
signi cant amount of funds was invested in establishing the European and Asian air
hubs in particular and we also participated in Postbank’s capital increase.  e change
in current  nancial assets led to a net cash out ow of   million.  e sale of the
Deutsche Bank shares resulted in a cash in ow which was invested in capital market
instruments. Cash paid to acquire subsidiaries and other business units fell sharply
from  , million in the previous year to   million.
Taken together, net cash used in operating activities and net cash used in investing
activities resulted in a negative free cash  ow of   million. In the previous year, the
free cash  ow was clearly positive, at  , million.
Financing activities in the reporting year resulted in cash in ows of  , million.
 is increase was largely due to Deutsche Bank’s subscription of the mandatory ex-
changeable bond in connection with the sale of Postbank and to payment of the collat-
eral for the put option for the remaining Postbank shares.  e dividend payment to our
shareholders was the largest payment in this area (  million).  e decline in current
 nancial liabilities was re ected in lower interest payments, which fell   million to
  million. Net cash used in  nancing activities in the previous year amounted to
 , million.
Cash and cash equivalents rose from  , million to  , million year-on-year
due to the changes in the individual areas of continuing operations and discontinued
operations.
ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Group’s total assets drop due to Postbank sale
 e deconsolidation of Postbank led to a sharp reduction in the Group’s total assets
as at  December . At  , million, these were down  , million on the
 gure as at  December .
Non-current assets increased from  , million to  , million, primarily
because of the  , million rise in investments in associates. Following the decon-
solidation, this item contains the remaining shares in Postbank. Speci cally, the put
options received as part of the Postbank sale increased other non-current  nancial as-
sets from   million to  , million. Other non-current assets declined slightly by
  million to   million. Property, plant and equipment fell from  , million to
 , million mainly, as a result of depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses
and write-downs. Deferred tax assets also decreased by   million to   million.
Deutsche Post DHL Annual Report 
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