Cash flow from operating activities went down significantly in the past business year by almost one third to EUR 917.0 million compared to the previous year’s figure of EUR 1,321.9 million. While profit for the period (net income) remained unchanged in a year-to-year comparison, it was primarily the change in working capital that was the decisive factor in this substantial decline. While funds amounting to EUR 225.0 million were released in the business year 2012/13 by the reduction of net working capital, in the business year 2013/14, EUR 258.4 million had to be invested in an increase of working capital; the Metal Engineering Division was most strongly affected by this rise in working capital as a result of the ramp-up in pre-material inventories in preparation for the blast furnace repair in the summer of 2014 and the partial reversals of provisions associated with the antitrust proceedings relative to railway superstructure material and the closure of TSTG Schienen Technik GmbH & Co KG, Duisburg.
At EUR 786.6 million, cash outflow due to investment activity fell in the business year under review and is 5.2% lower than in the previous year (EUR –829.6 million). Cash flow from financing activities ran counter to this development. While cash and cash equivalents only fell by EUR 74.7 million in the business year 2012/13 due to the voestalpine Group’s financing activities, in the business year 2013/14, they were reduced by accounting effects of EUR 674.2 million due to scheduled repayments of loans and dividend payments and especially by the cash outflow following the aforementioned repayment of a corporate bond issue with a volume of EUR 400 million and a coupon rate of 8.75% in the early part of the business year.
