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 continued to benefit from steadily growing internal and external demand for financing solutions. Revenue in the long-term leasing business with external end customers advanced to €92.9 million (Q1 2015: €85.0 million). Total revenue including the short-term rental business, which is managed by the LMH and STILL brand segments, was up by 10.3 per cent to €162.5 million (Q1 2015: €147.3 million). At €1.3 million, earnings before tax was at the level of the prior-year period (Q1 2015: €1.3 million). The return on equity (ROE) was 12.8 per cent (Q1 2015: 13.3 per cent).

At €1,628.5 million, the FS segment’s assets had increased slightly compared with the end of last year (31 December 2015: €1,603.4 million) and were up significantly year on year due to the increase in the volume of orders (31 March 2015: €1,412.2 million). As at 31 March 2016, the FS segment had intra-group lease receivables of €552.7 million from the LMH and STILL brand segments relating to the intra-group financing of the short-term rental fleet (31 December 2015: €549.2 million; 31 March 2015: €489.3 million). The funding of intra-group long-term leases (finance leases) with LMH and STILL resulted in lease liabilities of €395.3 million (31 December 2015: €400.6 million; 31 March 2015: €350.4 million). Net financial debt amounted to €198.5 million at the end of the first quarter (31 December 2015: €185.6 million; 31 March 2015: €169.7 million). > TABLE 10