Financial Services segment

The Financial Services (FS) segment is the central financing partner for end-customer leasing and short-term rental fleet financing for the LMH and STILL brand segments. It benefited from further growth in demand for financing solutions in the first half of this year. Long-term leasing business with external end customers amounted to €184.5 million, compared with €152.5 million in the corresponding prior-year period. Financing for short-term rental business also achieved significant growth. The LMH and STILL brand segments manage this business, which is recognised as intra-group revenue. External leasing business with end customers continued to be concentrated in western Europe. At €1,466.3 million, the FS segment’s assets were higher than at the end of last year (31 December 2014: €1,361.3 million) and up significantly year on year (30 June 2014: €1,286.6 million).

Net financial income in the form of net interest income is a key element of the segment’s earnings and amounted to €2.9 million (H1 2014: €1.9 million). Earnings before tax came to €2.7 million, which was comparable to the figure of €2.6 million for the first half of 2014. As at 30 June 2015, the FS segment had intra-group lease receivables of €516.0 million from the LMH and STILL brand segments relating to the intra-group financing of the short-term rental fleet (31 December 2014: €473.0 million; 30 June 2014: €468.4 million). The funding of intra-group long-term leases (finance leases) with LMH and STILL resulted in lease liabilities of €377.5 million (31 December 2014: €334.5 million; 30 June 2014: €331.8 million). Net financial debt amounted to €174.1 million at the end of the second quarter (31 December 2014: €155.1 million; 30 June 2014: €155.2 million). The return on equity (ROE) of 13.2 per cent was slightly above the level at the end of last year (31 December 2014: 13.0 per cent). > TABLE 10