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31. INFORMATION ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY<br />

The management of the integrated water cycle within the Sotogr<strong>and</strong>e development <strong>and</strong> its surroundings forms part of the operations performed by the<br />

Group through Sotogr<strong>and</strong>e, S.A., which include waste water treatment <strong>and</strong> purification to minimise damage to the environment.<br />

As part of its treatment <strong>and</strong> purification operations the Group owns two wastewater treatment plants capable of serving up to 20,000 inhabitants. These plants<br />

are interconnected, so that treated effluent is discharged into the sea through an underwater outfall. These stations are intercommunicated, so that treated<br />

effluents are discharged into the sea through an underwater outfall. Likewise, the Company has built a tertiary treatment system in one of the treatment<br />

stations. This further purifies water, making it suitable to irrigate part of the Real Club de Golf de Sotogr<strong>and</strong>e <strong>and</strong> the pitches of the Santa María Polo Club,<br />

with whom agreements have been signed for this purpose. The tertiary treatment plant has been in service since July 2003. The entry into service of this<br />

tertiary system has increased water resources by 300,000 m³ / year.<br />

Furthermore, the Group is currently focusing its actions on urban l<strong>and</strong> with partially approved plans as part of its promotional <strong>and</strong> development activities<br />

for the Sotogr<strong>and</strong>e Development. In these circumstances, no preliminary environmental impact studies need be conducted on its real estate or tourist<br />

developments. Nonetheless, the Group’s policy aims to achieve maximum respect for the environment, <strong>and</strong> for this purpose it has contracted the services of<br />

an environmental consulting firm to provide environmental diagnoses <strong>and</strong> consulting on the Company’s actions.<br />

The amount of the environmental assets described net of depreciation at 31 December 2011 amounted to 1,467,000 euros (1,523,000 euros in 2010).<br />

The Group had not allocated any provisions for environmental contingencies <strong>and</strong> claims at year-end 2011.<br />

32. EXPOSURE TO RISK<br />

The Group’s financial risk management is centralised at the Corporate Finance Division. This Division has put the necessary measures in place to control<br />

exposure to changes in interest <strong>and</strong> exchange rates on the basis of the Group’s structure <strong>and</strong> financial position, as well as credit <strong>and</strong> liquidity risks. If necessary,<br />

hedges are made on a case-by-case basis. The main financial risks faced by the Group’s policies are described below:<br />

Credit risk<br />

The Group’s main financial assets include cash <strong>and</strong> cash equivalents (see Note 14), as well as trade <strong>and</strong> other accounts receivable (see Note 13). In general<br />

terms, the Group holds its cash <strong>and</strong> cash equivalents in institutions with a high level of creditworthiness <strong>and</strong> part of its trade <strong>and</strong> other accounts receivable<br />

are guaranteed through guarantees, surety <strong>and</strong> advance payments by tour operators.<br />

The Group has no significant concentration of third-party credit risk due to the diversification of its financial investments as well as to the distribution of trade<br />

risks with short collection periods among a large number of customers.<br />

Interest rate risk<br />

The Group’s financial assets <strong>and</strong> liabilities are exposed to fluctuations in interest rates, <strong>and</strong> this may have an adverse effect on its results <strong>and</strong> cash flows. In<br />

order to mitigate this risk, the Group has established policies <strong>and</strong> contracted financial instruments to ensure that approximately 27% of net financial debt is<br />

indexed to fixed interest rates.<br />

In accordance with the reporting requirements set forth in IFRS 7, the Group has conducted a sensitivity analysis on possible interest rate fluctuations in the<br />

markets in which it operates. On the basis of said requirements. The Group is in the process of refinancing its debt through a syndicated loan amounting to 758<br />

million euros, <strong>and</strong> part of its strategy resides in covering at least 25% of the refinanced debt through a hedging instrument yet to be designated (IRS or Collar).<br />

Aside from the impact any changes in the interest rates could have on financial assets <strong>and</strong> liabilities which comprise the net cash position, changes could<br />

arise in the valuation of the financial instrument contracted by the Group (see Note 19). The effects of changes in the interest rates on efficient derivatives<br />

are booked against equity, while the effects on inefficient derivates are booked in the consolidated comprehensive profit <strong>and</strong> loss statement. The Group has<br />

chosen to exclude the temporary value of designating hedges in order to improve their efficiency. Note 19 of the consolidated annual report attached hereto<br />

sets out the sensitivity analysis conducted on the above mentioned derivatives in the faces of changes in interest rates.<br />

Lastly, the long-term financial assets set out in Note 11 of this annual report are also subject to interest rate risks.<br />

Exchange rate risk<br />

The Group is exposed to exchange rate fluctuations that may affect its sales, results, equity <strong>and</strong> cash flows. These mainly arise from:<br />

- Investments in foreign countries (essentially Mexico, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Panama <strong>and</strong> the United States).<br />

- Transactions made by Group companies operating in countries whose currency is other than the euro (essentially Mexico, Argentina, the Dominican<br />

Republic, Venezuela <strong>and</strong> the United States).<br />

In order to ensure these risks are mitigated, the Group has established policies <strong>and</strong> contracted certain financial derivatives (see Note 19). More specifically,<br />

the Group endeavours to align the composition of its financial debt with cash flows in the different currencies. Likewise, financial instruments are contracted<br />

in order to reduce exchange rate differences from transactions denominated in foreign currencies.<br />

The Group has conducted a sensitivity analysis on the possible exchange rate fluctuations that might occur in the markets in which it operates. For this<br />

analysis, the Group has taken into consideration fluctuations in the main currencies with which it operates other than its functional currency (the US dollar, the<br />

Argentine peso, the Mexican peso <strong>and</strong> the Colombian peso). On the basis of this analysis, the Group considers that a 5% depreciation in the corresponding<br />

currencies would have the following impact on equity:<br />

Thous<strong>and</strong> euros<br />

Shareholders’ Equity Profit (Loss)<br />

US dollar (637) (22)<br />

Argentine peso (4,263) (359)<br />

Mexican peso (3,981) (136)<br />

Colombian peso (1,061) 82<br />

REPORT ON THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 107

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