- Index
- 1 NOTE F1 Revenue and segment information
- 2 NOTE F2 Consolidated income statement by nature
- 3 NOTE F3 Revenue from non-core activities
- 4 NOTE F4 Other operating gains and losses
- 5 NOTE F5 Results from portfolio management and reassessments, legacy remediation and major litigations
- 6 NOTE F6 Net financial charges
- 7 NOTE F7 Income taxes
- 8 NOTE F8 Discontinued operations
- 9 NOTE F9 Profit for the year
- 10 NOTE F10 Earnings per share
Accounting policy
Interest on borrowings is recognized in costs of borrowings as incurred, with the exception of borrowing costs directly attributable to the acquisition, construction and production of qualifying assets (see note F22 Property, Plant and Equipment).
Net foreign exchange gains or losses on financial items and changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments related to net indebtedness are presented in “Other gains and losses on net indebtedness”, with the exception of changes in fair value of derivative financial instruments that are hedging instruments in a cash flow hedge relationship, and which are recognized on the same line as the hedged item, when the latter affects profit or loss.
In € million |
2019 |
2018 |
Cost of borrowings |
(117) |
(131) |
Interest expense on lease liabilities |
(23) |
|
Interest on loans and short term deposits |
15 |
13 |
Other gains and losses on net indebtedness |
(16) |
(1) |
Net cost of borrowings |
(141) |
(118) |
Cost of discounting provisions |
(85) |
(74) |
Impact of change of discount rate on provisions |
(20) |
(3) |
Dividends from equity instruments measured at fair value through other comprehensive income |
4 |
|
Net financial charges |
(242) |
(194) |
Details are included in note F36 Net indebtedness.
The increase of the net cost of borrowings is mainly explained by:
- the lower cost of borrowings, following (a) the repayment at maturity (June 2018) of the EMTN bond (€ 382 million balance with a coupon of 4.625%), and (b) the early repayment in 2019 of the US$ 800 million Senior US$ bonds of Solvay Finance America LLC, initially maturing in 2020 with a 3.4% yearly coupon together with the issuance of a 10-year Senior bond (€ 600 million) with a 0.5% yearly coupon;
- the interest expense on lease liabilities following the application of IFRS 16 in 2019, resulting in the recognition of interest expense for € (23) million;
- the increase in other gains and losses on net indebtedness from € (1) million for 2018 to € (16) million for 2019, mainly explained by one-off costs for € (12) million related to the early repayment of the US$ 800 million Senior US$ bonds of Solvay Finance America LLC.
The increase of cost of discounting provisions relates to post-employment benefits (€ (14) million) and to environmental provisions (€ 3 million) and is mainly explained by the evolution of the applicable discount rates (see also note F34 Provisions).