D.22. Liabilities from supplier finance arrangements

voestalpine enables select suppliers to participate in a variety of supplier finance models. These largely involve bills of exchange payable as well as reverse factoring arrangements, and a program with a payment service provider.

Under the bills of exchange payment model, suppliers are given the option to receive early payment by selling their receivables to a financial institution at a discount. voestalpine pays at the time the associated bill of exchange is due. For trade payables covered by reverse factoring agreements, suppliers may opt to receive early payment from a bank, voestalpine then pays the bank when the invoice under the reverse factoring agreement is due. In the case of the program with a payment service provider, invoices from suppliers are paid by the payment service provider on the due date, while voestalpine has the option of extending the payment terms due to the involvement of the payment service provider.

The invoice amounts arise from supply and service relationships. They are an integral part of working capital. voestalpine recorded a total of EUR 26.9 million (2023/24: EUR 39.0 million) in interest expense related to these supplier finance models. The company also provides Group guarantees to the financial institutions involved.

In the current business year 2024/25, there were no significant changes in the scope of consolidation or currency translation differences that affected liabilities from supplier finance arrangements.

Further information on significant supplier finance arrangements:

Due to the long duration of the bills of exchange payment model and its exclusive use for specific liabilities – particularly for procuring raw materials – there are no ranges available for comparable liabilities outside of the bills of exchange payment model.

The payments to the financial institutions when the bills of exchange are presented, the reverse factoring liabilities paid and the payments to the payment services provider are shown in the cash flows from operating activities, as they are considered part of the Group’s ordinary operating cycle and remain elements of its operating costs, i.e., payments for goods and services. The payments made by the supplier finance providers to the suppliers are regarded as non-cash transactions.