14.Property, Plant and Equipment

Changes in property, plant and equipment in 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land and buildings

 

Plant installations and machinery

 

Furniture, fixtures and other equipment

 

Construction in progress and advance payments

 

Total

 

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

Cost of acquisition or construction, December 31, 2018

 

3,098

 

11,486

 

533

 

850

 

15,967

Changes in scope of consolidation

 

 

(73)

 

 

 

(73)

Initial application IFRS 16

 

268

 

154

 

238

 

 

660

Acquisitions

 

5

 

7

 

1

 

2

 

15

Capital expenditures

 

63

 

165

 

56

 

698

 

982

Retirements

 

(46)

 

(253)

 

(75)

 

 

(374)

Transfers

 

28

 

321

 

17

 

(366)

 

Transfers (IFRS 5)

 

(39)

 

(81)

 

(11)

 

(1)

 

(132)

Exchange differences

 

50

 

130

 

7

 

5

 

192

Cost of acquisition or construction, December 31, 2019

 

3,427

 

11,856

 

766

 

1,188

 

17,237

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumulated depreciation, impairment losses and impairment loss reversals, December 31, 2019

 

2,026

 

9,425

 

500

 

 

11,951

Carrying amounts, December 31, 2019

 

1,401

 

2,431

 

266

 

1,188

 

5,286

Depreciation and impairment losses in 2019

 

149

 

499

 

84

 

1

 

733

Depreciation

 

138

 

485

 

83

 

 

706

Impairment losses

 

11

 

14

 

1

 

1

 

27

Impairment loss reversals in 2019

 

 

(1)

 

 

 

(1)

The deconsolidation of Pure Salt Baytown LLC, Houston (United States), resulted in a decrease in the historical cost of acquisition or construction of plant installations and machinery due to changes in the scope of consolidation amounting to €73 million, a corresponding derecognition of accumulated depreciation of €65 million and the carrying amount of €8 million. Initial application of  16 resulted in an increase in cost of acquisition or construction in property, plant and equipment. See note 2.1 “Financial reporting standards applied for the first time in the reporting period” for effects of initial application.

Impairment losses of €1 million were reversed for property, plant, and equipment in the reporting year (previous year: €0 million).

Changes in property, plant and equipment in 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land and buildings

 

Plant installations and machinery

 

Furniture, fixtures and other equipment

 

Construction in progress and advance payments

 

Total

 

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

Cost of acquisition or construction, December 31, 2017

 

3,186

 

11,166

 

509

 

517

 

15,378

Capital expenditures

 

10

 

118

 

26

 

543

 

697

Retirements

 

(153)

 

(78)

 

(13)

 

 

(244)

Transfers

 

34

 

175

 

9

 

(218)

 

Transfers (IFRS 5)

 

(12)

 

(45)

 

 

 

(57)

Exchange differences

 

33

 

150

 

2

 

8

 

193

Cost of acquisition or construction, December 31, 2018

 

3,098

 

11,486

 

533

 

850

 

15,967

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accumulated depreciation, impairment losses and impairment loss reversals, December 31, 2018

 

1,904

 

9,207

 

447

 

 

11,558

Carrying amounts, December 31, 2018

 

1,194

 

2,279

 

86

 

850

 

4,409

Depreciation and impairment losses in 2018

 

95

 

471

 

33

 

 

599

Depreciation

 

92

 

467

 

33

 

 

592

Impairment losses

 

3

 

4

 

 

 

7

Borrowing costs of €6 million were capitalized in property, plant, and equipment in the reporting year as part of the cost of qualifying assets (previous year: €4 million). The capitalization rate applied amounted to 1.4% on average (previous year: 1.4%).

14.1 Leasing

Covestro as lessee

The right-of-use assets from leases are reported in capitalized property, plant and equipment.

The following table shows the changes in carrying amounts of right-of-use assets from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.

Changes in right-of-use assets in 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land and buildings

 

Plant installations and machinery

 

Furniture, fixtures and other equipment

 

Total

 

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

 

€ million

Carrying amounts, January 1, 2019

 

351

 

288

 

239

 

878

Additions

 

43

 

12

 

36

 

91

Retirements

 

(22)

 

(1)

 

(50)

 

(73)

Depreciation and impairment losses

 

(53)

 

(53)

 

(51)

 

(157)

Other changes

 

10

 

4

 

4

 

18

Carrying amounts, December 31, 2019

 

329

 

250

 

178

 

757

Right-of-use assets relate mainly to leases for production and logistics infrastructure and real estate leases. Some of the underlying leases include variable lease payments as well as options to extend or terminate the lease (for further details, see note 3 “Accounting Policies and Valuation Principles”). Leases for production and logistics infrastructure are mainly related to the rental of tanks and containers as well as rail cars. For tanks and containers, the average lease term is 14 years and for rail cars, nine years. Leases for renting real estate, particularly buildings, are for an average lease term of nine years.

The following table shows the amounts for all leases shown in the statement of cash flows and income statement:

Expenses and cash outflows for leases

 

 

 

 

 

2019

 

 

€ million

Amounts reported in the statement of cash flows

 

 

Total cash outflow for leases

 

196

Amounts reported in the income statement

 

 

Depreciation and impairment losses

 

157

Interest expense

 

33

Expenses relating to short-term leases

 

16

Expenses relating to leases of low-value assets

 

3

Expenses relating to variable lease payments not included in the lease liability

 

1

The lease commitments for current leases not recognized on the balance sheet amount to €2 million.

For information on the liabilities arising from leases, see note 22 “Financing and Financial Liabilities.” For further details on payments from leases, see note 27 “Notes to the Statement of Cash Flows.”

Covestro as lessor

In fiscal 2019, leasing income generated from lease contracts under IFRS 16 (Leases) was €12 million. These are mainly related to real estate. In addition, lease payments from rentals of €8 million are expected to be received in the following year, not including the investment property as outlined below. Lease payments totaling €8 million are expected to be received in 2021 – 2024, and lease payments totaling €5 million after 2024.

At Covestro, risks from renting real estate are usually limited by building insurance policies and by the contractual obligation of the renter to return the real estate to its original condition. In addition, price adjustments based mainly on the consumer price index mechanisms are contractually agreed.

14.2 Investment property

Internal valuations are used as the primary basis for determining the fair values of investment property. The income approach is used for buildings and developed sites, and the market comparison approach is used for undeveloped sites.

The total carrying amount of investment property as of December 31, 2019, amounted to €31 million (previous year: €36 million), and its fair value totaled €211 million (previous year: €211 million). The rental income from investment property was €17 million (previous year: €26 million) and the operating expenses directly allocable to this property amounted to €14 million (previous year: €13 million). In the reporting period and in the previous year, there were no operating expenses recognized for investment property not generating any rental income.

Rental income generated from the leasing of properties classified as investment properties stemmed in part from contracts for hereditary building rights and leases granted by the Covestro Group. These contracts with a weighted average remaining term of 37 years relate to space used by companies and contractual partners in the chemical industry at production sites in Germany. Based on current rental prices, around €5 million in compensation will be received annually from these long-term contracts for the use of this space in the coming years.

IFRSs/International Financial Reporting Standards
International accounting standards as endorsed by the European Union