Financial position
Liquidity
Cash flows from current business activities in the continuing operations fell from € 89.2
million to € 54.8 million. Cash flows from investment activity significantly improved in
the first quarter of 2009, rising from € –15.2 million to € 28.8 million. The main influencing
factor on the cash flow from the financing activities was a share buyback programme last
year. It thus amounted to
At the end of the first quarter the Group’s total liquid funds stood at € 216.4 million. The liquidity situation therefore remains very good – the Group has adequate liquidity available. In addition to the liquid funds, MLP also has access to free credit lines.
Consolidated cash flow statement for the period from January 1 to March 31, 2009 (continuing operations)
| All figures in € million | 1st Quarter 2009 | 1st Quarter 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash flows from operating activities | 54.8 | 89.2 | ||||
| Cash flows from investing activities | 38.8 | –15.2 | ||||
| Cash flows from financing activities | – | –11.5 | ||||
| Changes in cash and cash equivalents | 93,6 | 62.5 | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period | 38.0 | 36.6 | ||||
| Inflows/outflows due to divestments | –0.4 | – | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of period | 131.2 | 99.1 | ||||
Financial position
No capital measures were undertaken during the period under review.
Investments in the improvement of client consulting and care
During the first three months of the current financial year we invested a total of € 1.5 million (€ 3.0 million). The major portion of these investments, amounting to around € 1.2 million, was allocated to our financial services segment where we continued to invest in the improvement of IT support for client consulting activities and all relevant client care processes. However, the level of investment in this area has reduced significantly as, in particular, our IT systems have now reached a level of performance that is regarded as exemplary in the industry. All investments were financed from current cash flows.