In 2014, the Group companies did not default on any of their liabilities or financial covenants where such default would trigger acceleration of the liabilities.
During the year, the Grupa Azoty Group reduced its borrowings from PLN 1,238,833 thousand to PLN 986,191 thousand.
The Parent’s liabilities under bank and other borrowings fell from PLN 916,710 thousand to PLN 790,239 thousand; in particular, the Parent made repayments under the investment facilities contracted in previous years to finance its equity investments in Grupa Azoty PUŁAWY and Grupa Azoty SIARKOPOL.
However, the Group maintains a considerable level of cash and cash equivalents (PLN 558,603 thousand as at December 31st 2014), and therefore its liquidity risk is very low. The Group also had access to available overdraft and multi-purpose credit facilities and investment credit facilities (PLN 827,636 thousand as at December 31st 2014), which further mitigates the liquidity risk.
In 2014, the Group companies did not default on any of their liabilities or financial covenants where such default would trigger acceleration of the liabilities.
In 2014, the Group was not refused any bank borrowings and none of its credit facility agreements was terminated.
Furthermore, as the consolidation process progressed in 2014, objectives of the financing strategy were effectively achieved, including:
- uniform financing terms for all companies of the Grupa Azoty Group were secured and further improved, reflecting the Group’s credit standing and capabilities,
- strong liquidity position of the Grupa Azoty Group was maintained, with the management of free cash at the Group companies optimised.
These objectives were achieved through the following measures:
- the Parent’s management of cash pooling and overdraft sub-limits available to the Grupa Azoty Group within a global limit provided by PKO BP S.A., with flexible adjustment of the instruments to the needs of the Group companies,
- negotiation and standardisation of terms of credit limits and other bank financing instruments (leasing, factoring) for all companies of the Grupa Azoty Group, reflecting the Group’s credit standing and capabilities,
- maintaining by the Group of a high balance of free cash to secure funding for its asset and equity investments, and access to sufficient cash pools in the event of cycle-related changes in working capital needs,
- the Parent’s dividend policy with respect to its subsidiaries, adapted to the financing requirements of Grupa Azoty’s and its subsidiaries’ investment strategy,
- development and adoption of the Grupa Azoty Group Liquidity Management and Financing Policy consistent with the implemented Group Financing Model.