Basis of presentation

General information on the Company

KION GROUP AG, whose registered office is at Abraham-Lincoln-Strasse 21, 65189 Wiesbaden, is entered in the commercial register at the Wiesbaden local court under reference HRB 27060.

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements and the interim group management report were prepared by the Executive Board of KION GROUP AG on 4 August 2015.

Basis of preparation

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements of the KION Group for the six months ended 30 June 2015 have been prepared in line with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 ‘Interim Financial Reporting’ and other International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1606 / 2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the application of international accounting standards for interim financial statements. A condensed scope of interim reporting has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34.

All of the IFRSs and the related interpretations (IFRICs / SICs) of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) that had been issued by the reporting date and that were required to be applied for financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2015 have been applied in preparing these condensed consolidated interim financial statements. These condensed consolidated interim financial statements do not contain all the information and disclosures required of a set of consolidated annual financial statements and should therefore be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements prepared for the year ended 31 December 2014.

The reporting currency is the euro. All amounts are disclosed in millions of euros (€ million) unless stated otherwise. The addition of the totals presented may result in minor rounding differences. The percentages shown are calculated on the basis of the respective amounts, rounded to the nearest thousand euros.

Financial reporting standards to be adopted for the first time in the current financial year

The following financial reporting standards were adopted for the first time with effect from 1 January 2015:

  • IFRIC 21 ‘Levies’
  • Annual Improvements to IFRSs (2011-2013).

The first-time adoption of these standards and interpretations has had no significant effect on the financial performance, financial position or notes to the interim financial statements of the KION Group.

Financial reporting standards released but not yet adopted

In its condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2015, the KION Group has not applied the standards and interpretations that it reported on as at 31 December 2014 that have been issued by the IASB but are not yet required to be adopted in 2015. These standards and interpretations are expected to be applied by the entities included in the KION Group only from the date on which they must be adopted for the first time. Their effects on the financial performance and financial position of the KION Group are still being analysed.

Basis of consolidation

As was the case at 31 December 2014, a total of 21 German and 75 foreign subsidiaries were fully consolidated in addition to KION GROUP AG as at 30 June 2015.

In addition, nine joint ventures and associates were consolidated and accounted for using the equity method (31 December 2014: nine).

53 (31 December 2014: 52) subsidiaries with minimal business volumes or no business operations and other investments were not included in the consolidation. In February 2015, the KION Group acquired a 10 per cent stake in French robotics specialist Balyo SA. This equity investment is carried at cost.

Accounting policies

With the exception of the new and amended IFRSs described above, the accounting policies applied in these condensed consolidated interim financial statements are fundamentally the same as those used for the year ended 31 December 2014. These condensed consolidated interim financial statements are based on the interim financial statements of the parent company and its consolidated subsidiaries prepared in accordance with the standard accounting policies applicable throughout the KION Group.

Assumptions and estimates

The preparation of these condensed IFRS consolidated interim financial statements requires the use of assumptions and estimates for certain line items that affect recognition and measurement in the statement of financial position and the income statement. The actual amounts realised may differ from estimates. Assumptions and estimates are applied in particular:

  • in assessing the need for and the amount of impairment losses on intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and inventories;
  • in determining the useful life of non-current assets;
  • in classifying leases;
  • in measuring options;
  • in recognising and measuring defined benefit obligations;
  • in recognising and measuring other provisions;
  • in assessing the recoverability of deferred tax assets.

The estimates may be affected, for example, by deteriorating global economic conditions or by changes in exchange rates, interest rates or commodity prices. Production errors, the loss of key customers and changes in financing can also impact on the Company’s performance going forward. Changes are recognised in profit or loss when they become known and assumptions are adjusted accordingly.