english - About Heraeus

Capital management information
The aims of capital management are based on the corporate guidelines for financial management
of the Heraeus Group.
They include hedging and management of cash flow at all times, guaranteeing constant
access to money, credit, and capital markets and a solid equity position.
Measures to achieve these objectives are the optimization of the capital structure, changes
to distributions and the reduction of debt over recent years.
In addition to a high equity ratio, Heraeus uses the financing possibilities of the money
and capital markets, such as a commercial paper program or bond issue, which are
supported by contractually agreed long-term credit facilities with banks with first-class
ratings from various sectors.
Among other things, the Trading unit uses precious metal leases, which are usual in the
industry, in order to finance the precious metals necessary in the production process. The
Heraeus Group generally enters into precious metal leases with a term of up to 12 months.
Financial market risk is controlled using the following established parameters:
interest coverage factor,
operating debt coverage, and
equity ratio.
Because of the international nature of the transactions, statutory and regulatory requirements
that vary from region to region must be observed. The status of and changes to
these requirements are monitored locally and centrally, and changes are taken into account
in the course of capital management.
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