[41] Financial risk reporting

Capital management

One of the prime objectives of capital management is to ensure liquidity at all times. Measures aimed at achieving these objectives include the optimization of the capital structure, the reduction of liabilities, and ongoing Group cash flow planning and management. Close cooperation between the individual companies and the Corporate Finance division ensures that the local legal and regulatory requirements faced by foreign Group companies are taken into account in capital management.

Net financial debt – defined as the difference between financial liabilities and cash and cash equivalents – is a key performance measure used in liquidity planning at Group level and amounted to €567.6 million as at December 31, 2021 (2020: €880.0 million).