Mercedes 1999 Annual Report Download - page 72

ANALYSIS OF THE FINANCIAL SITUATION
66
Balance Sheet Structure
in billions of €
Fixed Assets
Non-fixed Assets
of which: Liquidity
Deferred Taxes and
Prepaid Expenses
Stockholders’ Equity
Accrued Liabilities
Liabilities
of which:
Financial Liabilities
Deferred Taxes
and Income
136
21%
25%
48%
30%
6% 6%
37%
53%
22%
19%
99 98 98 99
136
175 175
37%
55%
8%
14%
6%
10%
54%
40%
Balance Sheet Structure of the Industrial Business
in billions of €
Property, Plant
and Equipment
Other Fixed Assets
Deferred Taxes and
Prepaid Expenses
Liquidity
Receivables
Inventories
Stockholders’ Equity
Accrued Liabilities
Liabilities
Deferred Taxes
and Income
88
99 98 98 99
88
101 101
27%
39%
29%
5%
33%
9%
13%
13%
20%
12%
28%
37%
30%
5%
36%
9%
14%
14%
16%
11%
A strong increase also occurred in stockholders’ equity,
which reached €36.1 billion at December 31, 1999 (1998:
€30.4 billion). This was the result of higher net income and
currency translation. In view of the increased balance sheet
total, the equity ratio net of dividend distribution fell from
20.6% to 19.3%. For the industrial business, however, the
equity ratio increased from 26.6% to 27.8%. The Group’s bal-
ance sheet figure for accrued liabilities grew overall by 8.9%
to €37.7 billion. The reduction in pension provisions re-
sulted from the formation of the DaimlerChrysler Pension
Trust was offset by higher other accrued liabilities, prima-
rily due to the significant expansion of business volume and
the effects of currency translation.
For the leasing and financing business, total assets in-
creased by 55% compared with December 31, 1998 to €73.9
billion. Receivables from financial services of €38.7 billion
(1998: €26.5 billion) account for the biggest part of this in-
crease. Total liabilities, primarily comprised of financial li-
abilities, increased by €23.3 billion to €60.1 billion during
1999, as a result of continuing growth in financial services
and the effects described above from the appreciation of the
US dollar. The equity employed in the financial services
business amounted to €5.7 billion at the end of the year,
equivalent to about 7.8% of total assets.
HIGHER CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES. Cash pro-
vided by operating activities (adjusted for changes in the
consolidated group and exchange-rate effects) increased by
8.0% in the year under review and reached €18.0 billion
(1998: €16.7 billion). A significantly better financial result
(before non-cash expenses and income) was partially offset
by a higher working capital caused by the expanded busi-
ness volume. Cash used for investing activities of €32.1 bil-
lion in 1999 (1998: €23.4 billion) was again characterized
by the continued expansion of our leasing and sales financ-
ing business. For the financial services business, cash used
for investing activities amounted to €21.8 billion – nearly
€10 billion more than in the preceding year. This was
primarily due to a considerably higher net increase in
equipment on operating leases (up €7.9 billion to €12.9 bil-
lion) and a net cash outflow of €1.8 billion related to receiv-
ables from financial services. To cover the capital needs of
our growing financial services business, we entered into a
considerable volume of both short-term and long-term finan-
cial liabilities. After taking into consideration the higher
dividend payments made by the Group to its shareholders
(adjusted for the special dividend distribution made in
1998) cash provided by financing activities rose by €9.0
billion to €15.8 billion. As a result of the aforementioned
developments cash and cash equivalents with an initial