The fee paid to the appointed auditor of the consolidated financial statement as defined by § 318 German Commercial Code (HGB) totalled EUR 2.0 million (EUR 2.5 million). This included a fee of EUR 1.3 million (EUR 1.9 million) for the auditing of the financial statement and a minimal amount (EUR 0.1 million) for tax consultancy services. Expenditure of EUR 0.6 million (EUR 0.5 million) was incurred for assurance and other services performed for the parent or subsidiary companies in the year under review.