WACKER’s financing strategy follows two equally important goals:
- To finance corporate growth as far as possible without outside help
- To sustain a positive net cash flow
We cover our capital requirements from operating cash flow, and from short-term and long-term financing.
We ensure the Group’s permanent solvency via rolling cash-flow management, and adequate credit lines guaranteed in writing. Financing requirements are calculated for the entire Group, with funding usually being granted at Group level. Project-specific or regional funding is available in special cases.
Financing Measures in 2011
No major financing measures were completed in 2011. We repaid the promissory note taken out in 2009, as scheduled. €10 million was repaid in July 2011, bringing repayments to €161 million of the total €180 million. As regards the €400 million credit line concluded with the European Investment Bank back in 2009, we used the remaining €200 million in December 2011.
No collateral exists for financial liabilities. Some of the liabilities to banks are fixed-interest and others have variable interest rates. Thus, as of December 31, 2011, WACKER has unused and used credit lines of around €1.18 billion with terms of over one year. The measures concluded contain standard market credit terms and a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio as the only financial covenants.
WACKER collaborates with a number of banks (core-bank principle). These must have an investment-grade credit rating and a long-term business model. To minimize counterparty and concentration risks, a single bank’s share in credit lines promised to WACKER must not exceed 20 percent. The only exception is the European Investment Bank.