Financial Services segment

The Financial Services (FS) segment is the central financing partner for the LMH and STILL brand segments’ end-customer leasing and financing of the short-term rental fleet. In the first quarter of 2014, the FS segment benefited from growing internal and external demand for financing. Long-term leasing with external end customers generated a volume of €77.3 million compared with €74.4 million in the prior-year period. Financing for short-term rental business grew at an even stronger rate. The LMH and STILL brand segments have operational responsibility for this business, which is recognised as intra-group revenue. External leasing business with end customers continued to be concentrated in western Europe. At €1,257.8 million, the FS segment’s assets were up slightly compared with the end of last year (31 December 2013: €1,249.4 million) and up significantly year on year due to the increase in the volume of orders (31 March 2013: €1,038.4 million).

Net interest income, which is one of the segment’s main sources of income, stood at €0.8 million and was therefore close to the figure for the first three months of 2013. Earnings before tax came to €1.3 million in the reporting period, which was largely unchanged on the €1.2 million reported in the first quarter of 2013. As at 31 March 2014, the FS segment had intra-group lease receivables of €450.0 million from the LMH and STILL brand segments relating to the intra-group financing of the short-term rental fleet (31 December 2013: €449.1 million; 31 March 2013: €372.1 million). The funding of intra-group long-term leases (finance leases) with LMH and STILL resulted in lease liabilities of €317.4 million (31 December 2013: €319.7 million; 31 March 2013: €262.1 million). Net financial debt amounted to €150.3 million at the end of the reporting period (31 December 2013: €163.6 million; 31 March 2013: €171.0 million). Return on equity (ROE) was 13.0 per cent, the same as it had been at the end of 2013. >> TABLE 10