| 2020 | 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| € million | € million | +/- % | ||
| Earnings before tax (EBT) | 162.3 | 417.6 | -61.1% | |
| Financial result and non-cash affected expenses and income | 360.4 | 287.2 | 25.5% | |
| Gross cash flow | 522.8 | 704.8 | -25.8% | |
| Change in current assets, net | -11.9 | -44.5 | -73.2% | |
| Tax payments and dividends received | -89.3 | -111.5 | -19.9% | |
| Net cash from operating activities | 421.5 | 548.8 | -23.2% | |
| Payments for acquisitions | 0.0 | -1.2 | – | |
| Payments for investing in fixed assets | -151.0 | -218.4 | -30.9% | |
| Other investing activities | 5,5 | 0,8 | - | |
| Net cash used in investing activities | -145.5 | -218.7 | -33.5% | |
| Free cash flow | 276.0 | 330,0 | -16.4% | |
| Free cash flow (before acquisitions) | 276.0 | 331.2 | -16.7% | |
| - in % of sales | 5.3% | 6.0% | ||
| Dividend payments to equity holders of the parent company | 0.0 | -52.3 | -100.0% | |
| Dividend payments to non-controlling interests | -45.6 | -18.6 | 145.1% | |
| Proceeds from borrowings | 94.2 | 0.0 | - | |
| Repayments of borrowings | 0.0 | -17.6 | -100.0% | |
| Repayments of lease liabilities | -135.0 | -140.8 | -4.2% | |
| Other proceeds/payments | -43.0 | -43.6 | -1.5% | |
| Net cash used in financing activities | -129.2 | -272.9 | -52.6% | |
| Exchange rate-related changes in cash and cash equivalents | -8.9 | -2.8 | – | |
| Change in cash and cash equivalents | 137.8 | 54,3 | 153.9% | |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the financial year | 518.1 | 463.7 | 11.7% | |
| Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the financial year | 655.9 | 518.1 | 26.6% |
Gross cash flow decreased by 25.8% from €704.8 million to €522.8 million in 2020. This decrease was due to lower earnings before taxes (EBT -61.1%). In contrast, non-cash expenses increased as a result of the increase in right-of-use assets, which led to higher depreciation and amortization in 2020.
A strong focus on working capital management significantly contributed to the fact that the cash outflow from the change in net current assets* improved from €-44.5 million in the previous year to €-11.9 million in the financial year 2020. The cash outflow from tax payments and dividends received decreased from €-111.5 million in the previous year to €-89.3 million. Overall, this resulted in a decrease in net cash from operating activities by €127.3 million, from €548.8 million to €421.5 million. Despite the significant negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, PUMA was therefore able to largely limit the decline in net cash from operating activities.
* Net current assets include normal working capital line items plus current assets and liabilities, which are not normally part of the working capital calculation. Current lease liabilities are not part of the net current assets.
Net cash used in investing activities decreased in the financial year 2020, from €218.7 million to €145.5 million. Due to the significant negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reacted quickly and adjusted our investment planning for 2020 accordingly to limit cash outflows as far as possible. This resulted in a decrease of investments in fixed assets from €218.4 million in the previous year to €151.0 million in 2020. The investments mainly concerned logistics and IT infrastructure. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in own retail stores declined in the past financial year.
The free cash flow before acquisitions is the balance of the cash inflows and outflows from operating and investing activities. In addition, an adjustment is made for incoming and outgoing payments that relate to shareholdings, where applicable.
Free cash flow before acquisitions decreased from €331.2 million in the previous year to €276.0 million in the financial year 2020. Free cash flow before acquisitions was 5.3% of net sales compared to 6.0% in the previous year.
The net cash used in financing activities decreased overall from a cash outflow of €272.9 million in the previous year to a cash outflow of €129.2 million in 2020. This decrease resulted, on the one hand, from the waiver of dividend payments for the financial year 2019 to PUMA SE shareholders, in order to limit cash outflows in 2020 as far as possible during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, proceeds from borrowings of €94.2 million in 2020, compared with the repayment of financial liabilities of €17.6 million in the previous year, contributed to the decrease in net cash used in financing activities.
The net cash used in financing activities also included payouts to non-controlling interests totaling €45.6 million (previous year: €18.6 million) and the repayment of lease liabilities and related interest expenses totaling €164.3 million in 2020 (previous year: €170.5 million).
As of December 31, 2020, PUMA had cash and cash equivalents of €655.9 million, an increase of 26.6% compared to the previous year (€518.1 million). The PUMA Group also had credit lines totaling €1,639.1 million as of December 31, 2020 (previous year: €687.6 million). Unutilized credit lines totaled €1,372.7 million on the balance sheet date, compared to €514.1 million in the previous year. In order to ensure the liquidity of the PUMA Group, even in the event of a longer lasting pandemic, we have therefore secured additional credit lines in the past financial year as a contingency reserve, in line with our strategic priorities for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
