Cash flow

Consolidated cash flow statement

A summary of the cash flow statement for 2021 is shown below.

The cash flow from operating activities in 2021 amounted to €664 million (2020: €634 million). This higher operating cash flow is mainly due to the higher profit, which was partly offset by changes in working capital in particular.

The cash outflow from investing activities in 2021 amounted to €639 million, which is a good €100 million lower than in 2020. This has five causes:

1. Redemption of the bonds, which had a positive impact of €198 million on investment cash flow in connection with the early termination of two CBL transactions. 

2. Increase of €124 million in gross investments for property, plant and equipment. These are disclosed below.

3. This is offset by lower customer contributions of €26 million.

4. The partial sale of 450connect in 2021, which had a positive impact of €30 million on the investment cash flow.

5. The acquisition of TReNT in 2020, which had a negative impact of €60 million on the investment cash flow in 2020.

Investments

In 2021, the investments increased by €124 million relative to 2020. This is almost entirely due to the increased investments in the power grids in response to new home construction and the increasing demand for connections for solar farms and wind turbines. Besides rolling out new and heavier-duty cables, we are building new electrical substations and expanding existing ones. The investments in power grids have more than doubled during the past five years. By contrast, the investments in the gas networks are roughly at the same level as in 2017. Investment in the smart meters has been at a high level for a number of years, peaking at €137 million in 2018. This large-scale roll-out has now been phased out, and the investments dropped to €51 million in 2021. In the ‘Buildings, IT, etc. category’, there has also been an increase in the investments over the last three years in telecommunications networks (both fibre optic networks and mobile data communications networks). The relatively high investment figures in the ‘Buildings, IT, etc. category’ in 2017 reflect the renovation of the office buildings in Duiven and Arnhem.

Free cash flow

The free cash flow in 2021 totalled €25 million, compared with a free cash flow in 2020 of €135 million negative. This difference is almost entirely due to the redemption of the General Electric notes in connection with the early termination of two CBL contracts. 

The cash flow from financing activities for 2021 amounted to €301 million (2020: €280 million). In 2021, the previously issued perpetual bond loan led to an incoming cash flow of €599 million. There was also an incoming cash flow resulting from security deposits received amounting to €72 million. This was offset by lease payments (€206 million) resulting from the early termination of two CBLs, repayment obligations (€48 million) and dividend paid (€94 million). The incoming cash flow due to new loans raised in 2020 amounted to €847 million through the Green Bond and other instruments, but the contractually agreed repayments amounted to over €400 million in 2020. 

Part of the financing cash flow consists of the issue of a convertible shareholder loan. This resulted in an incoming cash flow of €599 million, 50% of which counts as equity in the determination of creditworthiness.