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BMW Group deliveries up 5.2% to 220,649 units / BMW sales +4.8% to 186,346 vehicles / MINI brand sales climb 7.6% to 33,993 cars / New BMW 5 Series sedan segment leader for third consecutive month / BMW i3 sales YTD November higher than whole of 2016.  

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London: UK Inflation rises to near six-year high, Pound (downtrend) rose a bit. Downtrend still intact.

Euro (-0.08%) vs. Pound Sterling at £0.8814

Daily High: £0.8843  <>  Daily Low: £0.8789    

Higher inflation mumber would have little effect on how soon the Bank of England would raise interest rates again.

Households in the UK have just been given an early Christmas present – inflation hitting its highest level for nearly six years. The rise to 3.1% for November has been fuelled by jumps in the prices of food, computer games, toys and air fares. However wage growth is lagging behind at 2.2%.

Now the Bank of England will have to write to the UK Chancellor to explain how it will bring inflation back in line with its target of 2%.

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‘Vloek van het hoogste bod’ richt zich ten onrechte op makelaars

De vloek van het hoogste bod. Zo noemt hoogleraar Peter van Gool het als iemand er tot zijn grote schrik achter komt dat hij of zij tijdens een bieding op een gewilde koopwoning aan het langste eind heeft getrokken. Net als zijn collega Johan Conijn vindt hij dat makelaars door kopers ten onrechte scheef worden aangekeken op een overspannen woningmarkt als die van Amsterdam. De beide hoogleraren van de Amsterdam School of Real Estate (ASRE) zeggen dit in NVMagazine, dat deze week verschijnt.

Enkele maanden geleden werden er in de Tweede Kamer vragen gesteld over de veilingen die verkoopmakelaars organiseren om woningen in gewilde buurten aan een koper te helpen. “En dat terwijl verkoopmakelaars alleen maar hun werk doen”, benadrukt Conijn, als buitengewoon Hoogleraar Woningmarkt aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam en verbonden aan de Amsterdam School of Real Estate. “Dat ze als een soort Pavlov-reactie om de zoveel tijd onder vuur komen te liggen, heeft te maken met het onjuiste verwachtingspatroon dat veel mensen van makelaars hebben. Ze worden gezien als onafhankelijke marktmeesters, die vraag en aanbod zo goed mogelijk bij elkaar brengen. Maar dat zijn ze pertinent niet. In Nederland is gekozen voor een systeem waarbij op de woningmarkt zowel de verkopende als de kopende partij zich kan laten adviseren door een makelaar. Net als een advocaat zijn ze geen tussenpersoon, maar staan ze nadrukkelijk naast een van de partijen.”

Goede methode

Een verkoopmakelaar die een veiling organiseert en zich aan de NVM-kernwaarden op gebieden als integriteit en transparantie houdt, doet zijn werk gewoon goed volgens Van Gool die hoogleraar Vastgoedeconomie is aan de ASRE. “De verkoper wil zijn woning zo snel mogelijk en tegen een zo hoog mogelijk prijs verkopen. Uit onderzoek blijkt dat een veiling daar een goede methode voor is: het leidt tot een korte doorlooptijd en een hoge prijs.”

Dat er veel meer vraag dan aanbod is en dat de prijzen op veilingen regelmatig de pan uitrijzen, komt volgens Conijn doordat met name particuliere beleggers ten tonele zijn verschenen. “Ze voegen koopwoningen toe aan hun portefeuille en gaan die vervolgens tegen marktprijzen verhuren. Vergeleken met particulieren hebben beleggers zogenaamde ‘soft budget constraints’, wat betekent dat ze ver boven de vraagprijs kunnen bieden. Dat er bij veilingen zoveel overboden wordt, laat zien dat makelaars juist terughoudend zijn met de vraagprijs.”

Maar ook als verkoopmakelaars met een lage vraagprijs meer bieders proberen te lokken, doen ze volgens Van Gool niets verkeerd. “Ze dienen de belangen van de verkopende partij die ze inhuurt zo goed mogelijk. En ze kunnen er niets aan doen dat er bieders zijn die al vier keer achter het net hebben gevist en zich laten verleiden tot een veel te hoog, irreëel en niet-marktconform bod. Een aankoopmakelaar had ze kunnen helpen het hoofd koel te houden, maar daar bezuinigen veel mensen juist op.”

Vrije markt

Conijn vindt niet dat de overheid moet ingrijpen. “Het is een vrije markt, met makelaars als adviseurs van de betrokken partijen. Als het wringt door disbalans tussen vraag en aanbod, zoals in Amsterdam maar ook in gemeenten als Amstelveen, Haarlem, Almere en Groningen waar steeds vaker boven de vraagprijs wordt geboden, kan het gemeentebestuur proberen voor meer evenwicht te zorgen door de bouw van koopwoningen te stimuleren.”

Nog los van ontbindende voorwaarden in het koopcontract, zoals het ‘voorbehoud van financiering’, hoeft niemand in Nederland volgens Van Gool in financiële problemen te komen door de ‘vloek van het hoogste bod’.  “Nadat de koper een exemplaar van het door beide partijen ondertekende koopcontract heeft ontvangen, heeft hij of zij drie volle dagen bedenktijd. Binnen deze 72 uur kan zonder opgaaf van reden van de koop worden afgezien, een mogelijkheid waar overigens opvallend weinig gebruik van wordt gemaakt.”

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Boskalis completes successful Aasta Hansteen float-over installation

Early yesterday morning Boskalis successfully completed an impressive dual vessel float-over operation of the Aasta Hansteen topside. Over the last number of years Boskalis through its subsidiary Dockwise, has played a critical role in the transportation of the Aasta Hansteen SPAR from South Korea to Norway and the topside installation. With this achievement, Boskalis has broken many engineering records with the transport of the largest and heaviest SPAR ever, the largest catamaran topside float-over and more than 100,000 worked hours with zero lost time injuries.

The Aasta Hansteen FPSO SPAR is a gas production and storage platform that will be operated by Statoil on the Aasta Hansteen field approximately 300 kilometers off the coast of Norway. The SPAR consists of a lower part, referred to as the hull or substructure, and the topsides on top of the SPAR hull.

The SPAR hull was transported horizontally by Boskalis from the yard in South Korea to a fjord near Stavanger in Norway. This enormous cylindrical buoy with a diameter of 50 meters, 198 meters length and weight of 46,000 tons was transported by the Dockwise Vanguard earlier this year.

Subsequently, Boskalis transported the 24,300 tons topside which was also built in Korea. This operation was carried out with the White Marlin, the newest and second largest vessel in the Dockwise fleet.

The third and final phase was the installation of the topside on top of the SPAR hull. Once the White Marlin arrived in Norway, the topside was transferred onto two S-class vessels, the smallest in the Dockwise fleet. After accurately positioning these two vessels on either side of the White Marlin, they started un-ballasting whilst the White Marlin ballasted down and maneuvered out from underneath.

The result was a sort of catamaran structure with the topside linking the two hulls. Over the weekend, the catamaran structure with the topside was towed out to the vertical SPAR hull. Once everything was in position above the substructure, the mating operation between the hull and topside was successfully completed.

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NATO Secretary-General extension. NATO announcement that Jens Stoltenberg has been extended for two years in the role of Secretary-General.

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Brussels: Lorry and bus drivers' training: provisional agreement with Parliament on updated rules

The presidency today reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on revised rules to modernise training requirements for professional lorry and bus drivers, and to improve recognition of obligatory training received in another EU country. The revision also clarifies minimum age conditions and exemptions from the requirements to follow additional training.

"This is a very targeted overhaul of a directive which in general has proven to work well. What will change is that we are putting greater emphasis on the safety and environmental aspects of driving. And the new rules on the recognition of qualifications will make it easier for drivers to move between different EU countries for work purposes, and for transport companies to hire qualified workers."

Kadri Simson, Estonia's Minister for Economic Affairs and Infrastructure.

Technically, the draft directive will amend the existing directive on the initial qualification and periodic training of professional drivers holding a C or D licence. It will also introduce related changes to the directive on driving licences.

The outcome of today's negotiations requires endorsement by member states.

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Ryanair-piloten plannen een decemberstaking

De Italiaanse, Portugese, Ierse en Duitse piloten van Ryanair hebben een werkonderbreking(en) aangekondigd bij de Ierse lowcost-carrier.

Vrijdag 15 december aanstaande zullen de Italiaanse Ryanair-piloten het werk neerleggen voor hun decemberstaking. De piloten eisen een plek aan de onderhandelingstafel om over hun arbeidsvoorwaarden te onderhandelen.

De Italiaanse Ryanair-piloten hebben aangekondigd op vrijdag 15 december aanstaande te gaan staken. De Portugese, Ierse en Duitse collega’s gaan dit voorbeeld volgen maar willen niet bekend maken wanneer dit gaat plaatsvinden. Hun aankondiging zal in ieder geval kort van te voren zijn. Passagiers moeten vanaf heden rekening houden met stakingen.

De Ryanair-piloten eisen een plek aan de onderhandelingstafel om te komen tot normale arbeidsvoorwaarden, zonder schijnzelfstandigheid. Ryanair heeft tot op heden iedere uitnodiging afgeslagen om over arbeidsomstandigheden te praten.

De kans is groot dat ook Nederlandse reizigers bij de stakingen getroffen worden. Zo maken voornamelijk Nederlandse passagiers gebruik van de Duitse Ryanair-basis in Weeze (net over de grens bij Nijmegen). Ook kunnen vluchten naar Eindhoven Airport en Schiphol, afkomstig uit Italië, Portugal, Ierland of Duitsland, getroffen worden door werkonderbrekingen. 

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Volkswagen deliveries reach all-time record in November; 594,300 vehicles delivered worldwide

Most successful month in history of brand

Deliveries since beginning of year 4.0 percent up on 2016

Strong incoming orders for e-models

The Volkswagen brand delivered more vehicles worldwide in November than ever before in a single month. The new record in November amounted to 594,300 units. In total, 5.64 million vehicles were delivered to customers worldwide from January to November. Volkswagen brand deliveries were therefore 4.0 percent up on the comparable period in 2016. Commenting on the new record, Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, said: “At the end of the year we are seeing positive momentum in all regions, and this is having an effect: for Volkswagen, this November is the most successful month of all time. I am particularly pleased to see that the positive sales trend in Germany over the last few months is now being confirmed by a strong delivery performance. Another positive is that more and more customers are switching to our e-models. Orders in Germany and Europe in November alone topped 3,000.”

Deliveries in the regions and markets in November developed as follows:

- At 142,100 new vehicles, deliveries in Europe were 5 percent higher than the previous year. The Volkswagen brand reported strong growth in Italy (+6.6 percent) and the UK (+7.0 percent), France (+10.2 percent ) and Austria (+20.3 percent). The main growth driver was high demand for the Golf and Tiguan along with the successful market launch of the new Polo. There was positive momentum in Austria as a result of the environmental incentive.

- At 47,800 vehicles, deliveries in Germany were well up on the previous year (+8 percent). In Western Europe, too, deliveries were 3.3 percent higher than in the same month last year. Orders in Germany continue to show a noticeable upward trend, which is attributable among other things to the positive effects of the environmental inventive.

- The Volkswagen brand recorded significant growth in Central and Eastern Europe, where deliveries rose by 14.2 percent. This positive development was again driven by Russia, which recorded very satisfactory 29.0 percent growth.

- At 50,700, deliveries in North America were slightly lower than the same month last year. In the USA, there was a slight decrease of 500 units. Canada reported a rise of 31.8 percent in November to 6,000 vehicles. This trend was driven by the Golf Alltrack and the Atlas as well as the Tiguan which was launched in August. 

- 38,000 vehicles were delivered to customers in South America, an increase of 31.4 percent. Key drivers behind this positive development were Brazil with an increase of 34.0 percent as well as Argentina with an increase of 29.8 percent. Growth in the small car segment in these markets was particularly strong compared with the previous year.

- The Volkswagen brand continued its growth course in China in November. 331,100 vehicles were handed over to customers in this, the largest market, corresponding to a noteworthy increase of 16.2 percent. This led to another record-breaking month for Volkswagen brand deliveries in China. There was strong demand for the Jetta (31,600; + 22.2 percent) and the Magotan (19,400; + 21.3 percent). The popularity of SUVs continued. Deliveries of the new Teramont totaled 9,200, and 33,000 models (+ 42.1 percent) from the Tiguan family were handed over to customers. 

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3M to Continue Its Strong Momentum in 2018

At today’s annual outlook meeting in New York City, 3M Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Inge Thulin will announce that the company is expecting another strong performance in 2018. Thulin will outline how the 3M Playbook is creating significant value, while emphasizing ongoing investments to support growth, strengthen the portfolio and increase productivity.

“The 3M team is delivering a robust performance in 2017, and is well-positioned to build on that momentum in 2018 – including strong, broad-based organic growth and expanded profitability,” said Thulin. “We are executing the 3M Playbook, which is making us even more competitive and enabling us to generate premium value for our customers and shareholders.”

Thulin will discuss the company’s three key levers, which are significant value-creators and key components of the 3M Playbook.

The first lever – Portfolio Management – is increasing customer relevance and allowing 3M to focus on its most profitable and fastest-growing businesses; since 2012, the company has realigned from 40 businesses to 24, while making strategic acquisitions and divestitures. Investing in Innovation is the second lever, and in 2018 3M plans to increase investments in research and development to $1.9 billion, or about 6 percent of sales. 3M continues to make good progress on its third lever – Business Transformation – which is enabling the company to better serve customers with even more agility and efficiency.

The company will also highlight investments in priority growth platforms – such as auto electrification, air quality and personal safety – along with its strong global business model including in the U.S. and China.

With respect to guidance, 3M will announce its expectations for the full-year 2018:

GAAP earnings per share of $9.60 to $10.00, an increase of 6 to 10 percent

Total sales growth of 5 to 7 percent; organic local-currency sales growth of 3 to 5 percent

Free cash flow conversion of 90 to 100 percent (assumes operating cash flow of $6.9 to $7.6 billion). Refer to section entitled “Supplemental Financial Information, Non-GAAP Measures” for more detail.

The company will also report that it is tracking to the top half of both its full-year 2017 organic growth range of 4 to 5 percent and earnings per share range of $9.00 to $9.10.

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UK House Price Index for October 2017; data shows an annual price rise of 4.5%, which takes the average property value in the UK to £223,807, house prices have fallen by 0.5% since September 2017

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London: UK CPI inflation was 3.1% to November YoY Euro Euro trends continously higher (+0.15%) vs. a lower Pound Sterling at £0.8834

Inflation came in at highest reading since March 2012.

Inflation is now more than 1% away from the 2%-inflation target, automatically triggering an explanatory letter from the UK Governor to the UK Chancellor.

Euro continously higher (+0.15%) vs. a lower Pound Sterling at £0.8834

Daily High: £0.8843  <>  Daily Low: £0.8803 

Most analysts expect inflation to peak at current levels in the final quarter of this year before dropping back to the target rate by mid-2019.

The Bank of England will in our view raise the policy rate every six months until the policy rate reaches 2% by mid-2021, with the next increase in May. Wage growth is likely to remain under pressure as a result”. 

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German passenger car market 2017 increases to 3.43 million new registrations - Market share of VDIK members with 38 percent at new record high

The passenger car market in Germany developed even more positively than expected a year ago. The year 2017 will conclude with an estimated 3.43 million new registrations of passenger cars. This represents the highest volume in the German passenger car market for eight years, equivalent to an increase of 80,000 units or 2.3 percent. The VDIK members increased their sales by 7 percent.

VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel: "From today's perspective, the growth of the overall market can be attributed solely to the significantly increased sales of the international motor vehicle manufacturers."

Disproportionately strong growing private market

In 2017, around 1.22 million private registrations were made, equal to a growth of more than 3 percent. The fleet market grew by a further 2 percent this year after a record volume in 2016. With an increase of 1.4 percent, the registrations on the motor vehicle industry itself as well as for the car rental companies grew less than the overall market.

VDIK members grow in private and fleet market

The growth of the VDIK member companies was 10 percent in the private market and their market share of private registrations increased from 43.6 percent to 46 percent. The VDIK member companies were also particularly successful in the fleet market, increasing by 14 percent and increasing their market share from 25.7 to 29 percent.

Overall, the VDIK member companies increased their market share to around 38 percent and thus achieved the best result since the association was founded, not taking the year of the environmental bonus into account. In total, they sold around 1.3 million passenger cars in Germany in 2017.

New registrations of petrol cars compensate for the decline in diesel passenger cars

In 2017, more than 1.9 million gasoline-powered vehicles were newly registered, an estimated increase of 12 percent. The registrations of passenger cars with diesel engines decreased by 12 percent and complete the year with over 1.35 million registrations. The share of diesel passenger cars in total sales decreased from 46 to 40 percent. The share of diesel in private new registrations dropped to 23 and with fleet operators to 66 percent.

Strong percentage growth in passenger cars with alternative drives

Alternative drives increased by 80 percent compared to the previous year and their share of total sales rose to over 3 percent in 2017. The best selling type of alternative drive, the hybrid without plug-in, increased by 69 percent to approx. 57,000 units. These vehicles originate almost exclusively from VDIK member companies. New registrations of passenger cars with pure electric drive improved their previous year's result with approx. 24,000 units by 110 percent. The plug-in hybrids exceeded the previous year by 118 percent and achieved about 30,000 registrations. New registrations of passenger cars with gas engines cannot yet compete with the numbers of hybrid and electric vehicles.

SUVs second largest segment after the compact class

While demand for mid-range and compact passenger cars declined, small cars recorded a slight increase of 3 percent and SUVs at 22 percent a strong increase. The private market share of SUVs is almost 50 percent and their diesel share declined from 45 to 33 percent compared to the previous year.

Good prospects for the passenger car market in 2018

VDIK President Reinhard Zirpel: "We expect that both the private and the fleet market will continue to develop positively in the coming year and therefore see good opportunities to continue the very positive trend of the current year."

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ZEW: Expectations Decrease Slightly for Germany / Outlook Remains Positive  (Euro (-0.03%) vs. US-Dollar at $1.1772)

The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany records a decrease of 1.3 points in December 2017 and now stands at 17.4 points. The indicator thus still remains below the long-term average of 23.7 points. The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany increased by 0.5 points, with the corresponding indicator currently standing at 89.3 points.

“Overall, the outlook for the German economy in the coming six months remains positive. The current state of uncertainty surrounding the government formation in Germany has not had any significant impact on the assessment of the economic outlook. Financial market experts, however, expect to see negative effects resulting from this with regard to the Brexit negotiations as well as EU reforms,” comments ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.

The results of this month’s special question, which was concerned with the effects the current difficulty of forming a government in Germany may have, can be found in more detail in the ZEW Financial Market Report, which will be available on Friday (15 December 2017).

The financial market experts’ sentiment concerning the economic development of the Eurozone decreased by 1.9 points, with the corresponding indicator currently standing at 29.0 points. The indicator for the current economic situation in the Eurozone continued to improve in December, climbing by 2.9 points to a level of 50.7 points compared to the previous month. The economic expectations for the Eurozone thus continue to be positive.

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UK Likely to Be Economically Worse-Off Outside the EU Under Most Plausible Trade Scenarios

A new study from the RAND Corporation projects that the UK economy is likely to suffer under the most probable post-Brexit trade scenarios.

Leaving the EU with no deal and operating under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules would lead to the greatest economic loss for the UK, reducing GDP by nearly 5 per cent, or $140 billion, 10 years after Brexit, compared with EU membership.

Researchers at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND and its European affiliate RAND Europe built an economic model to measure the percentage and monetary changes in GDP growth, GDP per capita, trade and foreign direct investment for the UK, EU and US across the eight trade scenarios. A new calculator on the RAND website allows anyone to explore likely post-Brexit impacts under their own assumptions.

The WTO outcome would likely move the UK further from EU standards and over time significantly increase non-tariff barriers, harming the ability of UK businesses to sell goods and services to EU countries. The services sector, which includes financial and banking, is particularly important as it dominates the UK economy, contributing to around 80 per cent of GDP.

The EU would also lose out under the WTO scenario, but the effect is relatively minor—a 0.7 per cent drop in GDP 10 years after Brexit.

Of the scenarios analysed, the most beneficial to the UK economy would be a trilateral UK-EU-US agreement, a TTIP-like agreement under which UK GDP would be 2.2 per cent higher—or 7.1 percentage points better than under the WTO rules scenario. This is even slightly better than continued EU membership. The EU and US are also forecast to make significant economic gains under this trade scenario. However, a TTIP-like arrangement is seen as very unlikely in the current political environment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Other trade scenarios could be better for the UK than WTO rules but still lead to economic losses compared with EU membership. These include 'hard Brexit' scenarios, such as a UK-EU free trade agreement (net UK GDP decline of 1.9 per cent 10 years after Brexit), UK-US free trade agreement (2.5 per cent decline) or UK-EU transitional zero-tariff agreement (2.1 per cent decline), and 'soft Brexit' scenarios, such as the Norway option (1.7 per cent decline), Switzerland option (2.4 per cent decline) or remaining part of the Customs Union (1.8 per cent decline).

“The analysis clearly shows that the UK will be economically worse-off outside of the EU under most trade scenarios. The key question for the UK is how much worse-off,” said Charles Ries, Vice President, International at RAND and lead author of the report. “It is in the best interests of the UK, and to a lesser extent the EU, to achieve some sort of open trading and investment relationship post-Brexit.”

The study used game theory insights to create a better understanding of how a wide variety of factors might affect the outcome of the Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU. Based on these insights, the report recommends that the UK seek to move away from a 'zero-sum game' and towards a 'positive sum game' as negotiations proceed, to ensure the best possible deal for all parties. A UK strategy of trying to pick apart European unity would be unlikely to work since it is in the best interests of all EU member states to work together.

The EU is likely to engage with the UK during Brexit negotiations, but may see benefit in adopting a 'zero sum game' approach. Europe's top political priority is to discourage other member states from withdrawing.

Ries explains: “Based on our insights, it is in the best interests of the UK to cooperate with its EU partners to find a new relationship with Europe. This would preserve economic benefits for both sides, but also give the UK the freedom from EU rules which it seeks. However, the EU is likely to want to ensure that it does not give too much away to the UK during negotiations, and may seek to adopt a 'zero sum game' approach to preserve the union.”

The study determined that after Brexit the political and security effects are likely to be more important to the US than the economic impact. The potential economic gains and losses for the US after Brexit are relatively small, apart from the TTIP-like arrangement which would result in substantial economic gains for the US.

Ries explains: “The US will greatly miss the influence and global perspective that the UK brings to EU decision-making, particularly around security and defence. In fact, the UK's EU membership often ensured that EU measures did not undermine NATO and the strong transatlantic partnership. The economic impact from Brexit is very much a secondary concern for the US.”

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With headline inflation now above 3% (3.1%) for the first time since 2012, Bank of England Governor Carney will be forced to write a letter to the UK Chancellor.

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ACM: A-Point (onderdeel van PON) wil Lexpoint overnemen (concentratiemelding)

A-Point B.V., onderdeel van de PON-groep, wil Lexpoint B.V. overnemen. De bedrijven hebben op 5 december 2017 de Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM) om toestemming gevraagd voor de overname.

A-Point B.V. is een onderdeel van de Pon-groep; deze is onder meer actief is op het gebied van import en detailhandel in nieuwe en gebruikte personenauto’s en lichte bedrijfswagens en daarbij behorende onderdelen alsmede op het gebied van autoverhuur, autoschadeherstel en bedrijfswageninrichting;

Lexpoint B.V. is een detailhandel in gebruikte personenauto’s en lichte bedrijfswagens in regio Haarlemmermeer.

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UK consumer prices continued to increase in November 2017

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 3.1% in November 2017, up from 3.0% in October 2017. Euro (-0.14%) at £0.8809

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AFM vraagt ondernemingen tijdig aandacht te geven aan invoering nieuwe verslaggevingsregels

Beleggers zijn nog onvoldoende geïnformeerd over de mogelijke impact van de nieuwe verslaggevingsregels over financiële instrumenten (IFRS 9) en omzetverantwoording (IFRS 15), die komende maand van toepassing worden. Er is een start gemaakt met het opnemen van niet-financiële informatie in het jaarverslag. Dit blijkt uit de resultaten van twee self assessments die de AFM vandaag publiceert.

De financiële verslaggeving van beursgenoteerde ondernemingen is een belangrijke bron voor bijvoorbeeld beleggers, die zich een oordeel willen vormen over de financiële positie en prestaties van een onderneming. De International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) zijn de boekhoudkundige standaarden die beursgenoteerde bedrijven verplicht gebruiken bij het opstellen van hun jaarverslag. Door deze standaarden zijn jaarrekeningen onderling beter vergelijkbaar.

Nieuwe regels treden binnenkort in werking

De nieuwe standaarden IFRS 9 ‘Financiële Instrumenten’ en 15 ‘Omzet’ zijn vanaf 1 januari 2018 verplicht, voor IFRS 16 ‘Leases’ geldt dat een jaar later. Daarnaast moeten vanaf het boekjaar 2017, Organisaties van Openbaar Belang (OOB’s) met meer dan 500 medewerkers, rapporteren over niet-financiële informatie in hun jaarverslag. Bijvoorbeeld over risico’s en prestaties op het gebied van milieu, sociaal- en personeelsbeleid, de naleving van mensenrechten en de bestrijding van corruptie en omkoping.

Verkenning naar de voorbereiding

De AFM heeft een self assessment uitgevoerd naar de invoering van de nieuwe IFRS regels; 103 beursgenoteerde ondernemingen namen deel. Daarnaast was er bij 77 organisaties een self assessment naar de toepassing van niet-financiële informatie in het jaarverslag. Zo wil de AFM aandacht creëren voor een tijdige en goede invoering van deze nieuwe regels.

Niet-financiële informatie

In het self assessment geven de meeste ondernemingen aan te zijn gestart met de invoering van de nieuwe regels. De identificatie van risico’s en niet-financiële prestatie indicatoren vergen nog de nodige aandacht, net als de ontwikkeling van beleid op het gebied van mensenrechten. Daarnaast zegt een kwart van de ondernemingen geïntegreerde verslaggeving in zijn geheel toe te passen.

Onvoldoende informatie over impact IFRS

Uit het self assessment blijkt verder dat beleggers nog onvoldoende zijn geïnformeerd over de impact van IFRS 9 en IFRS 15. De meeste ondernemingen zeggen uiterlijk in de jaarrekening 2017 beleggers te informeren over de mogelijk impact van IFRS 9 en IFRS 15. Verder wordt duidelijk dat IFRS 16 (‘Lease’) bij de meeste beursgenoteerde ondernemingen significante impact op de verslaggeving zal hebben.

In 2018 toetst AFM de naleving

De AFM verwacht in de jaarrekeningen 2017 een kwantitatieve toelichting op de effecten van de invoering van IFRS 9 en 15. Dat geldt ook voor IFRS 16, waar deze vervroegd wordt toegepast.

De AFM gaat in 2018 de naleving van de nieuwe regels rondom niet-financiële informatie toetsen.

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Le Shuttle Freight transported 140,257 trucks in November

Calais/Coquelles: In November 2017, Le Shuttle Freight transported 140,257 trucks, a slight decrease of 2% compared to November 2016. The capacity offered was reduced due to an intensification of maintenance operations at the beginning of the month. Since 1 January 2017, 1,508,959 trucks have crossed the Channel with Le Shuttle Freight.

Passenger vehicle traffic decreased by 6% in November compared to the same month in 2016, with 141,490 vehicles transported, having been similarly penalised by the intensification of maintenance operations. Since 1 January 2017, 2,412,379 vehicles have crossed the Channel with Le Shuttle.

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Euro neutral vs. Pound Sterling at £0.8822  // Highlight: 10:30 hrs– UK (inflation) CPI (November): expected to rise to 3.1% YoY from 3%

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