Controlling system

The most significant financial performance indicators for the Vossloh Group are value added, sales revenues, EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and EBIT margin (EBIT / sales revenues). While the company uses sales, EBIT and EBIT margin as key performance indicators for short-term planning, the long-term management of the business units within the framework of the value-oriented growth strategy has a particular focus on value added. Value added is the key earnings indicator for the divisions and business units within the framework of external reporting.

Positive value added is generated when a premium is earned on top of the return claimed by investors and lenders (cost of capital). This premium is the difference between the return on capital employed (ROCE, calculated as EBIT/average capital employed) and the cost of capital, which is calculated as the weighted average cost of equity and debt. Multiplying the premium by average capital employed gives the value added over a period in absolute terms. For internal controlling purposes, ROCE and value added are calculated before taxes.

Cost of equity is largely composed of a risk-free interest rate plus a market risk premium. The interest rate factor is adjusted according to the result before taxes. Cost of debt is calculated on the basis of the Group’s average financing terms. The ratio of equity to interest-bearing debt, which is used to determine the weighted cost of capital, is not derived from balance sheet data since it is not only predicated on a benchmark for the funding structure but also because equity is based on target market values in this case and not the carrying amounts recognized on the balance sheet. A weighted average cost of capital before taxes (WACC) of 7.0 percent was used as the yield expected by investors and lenders for the purposes of intragroup controlling in the 2022 fiscal year, as it was in the previous year.

There are two ways of increasing value added: increasing EBIT and optimizing capital employed. ROCE is derived from both values. Vossloh seeks to improve the parameters it can influence to optimize this performance indicator. As a result, the company also focuses on working capital, working capital intensity (average working capital/annual revenue) and free cash flow.

Management uses nonfinancial performance indicators for the purpose of managing the company and making long-term strategic decisions. However, nonfinancial performance indicators do not play a central role in the management of the company. Instead, they provide information about the situation within the Group and are used as a basis for decisions.

Indicators