Cash flow

Consolidated cash flow statement

Shown below is a summary of the cash flow statement for 2019.

The cash flow from operating activities in 2019 amounted to €638 million (2018: €638 million). In this cash flow, the lower interest paid in 2019 compared to 2018 was offset by higher working capital.

The cash outflow from investing activities in 2019 amounted to €713 million, which is a €200 million improvement on 2018. This has two causes:

• 1. the increase of €103 million in investments. These are disclosed below;

  2. the sale of Allego in 2018, which improved the cash flow from investing activities by €110 million in 2018.

Third-party contributions to investments in 2019 amounted to €124 million, comparable to those in 2018.

Investments

Despite a decrease in investments in gas networks, the total level of investments has risen by €257 million in the past five years, an increase of 45%. This is almost entirely due to the increased investments in the electricity networks to address 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. Investments in the gas networks show a decrease of 18% compared to 2015, which is largely in line with expectations. Investments in smart meters remain high as a result of the large-scale roll-out. In the ‘Buildings, IT, etc. category’, over the last two years, there has also been an increase in the investments in telecommunications networks (both fibre optic networks and mobile data communications). Furthermore, investments at Kenter and at our buildings increased in 2019 as a result of renovation work. The relatively high investment figures in the years 2015 to 2017 are the result of the renovation of the buildings in Duiven and Bellevue.

Free cash flow

The free cash flow in 2019 totalled €75 million negative, compared with a free cash flow in 2018 of €142 million positive. In 2018, the free cash flow was positively affected by the sale of Allego. Moreover, Alliander stepped up its investments in 2019.

If we were to include the dividend payment in 2019 (€150 million) and the interest payments to the holders of the subordinated perpetual bond loan, the free cash flow in 2019 would amount to €233 million negative (2018: €29 million positive). This negative cash flow is being financed through the issue of short-term paper (ECP), which does entail an immediate increase in our net debt position.

At year-end 2019 the cash flow from financing activities was €88 million positive (2018: €103 million negative). Disregarding the dividend payment and the payment to bondholders (total: €158 million), financing amounts to €246 million (increase in net debt).

Part of the financing cash flow is the issue of a green bond. At the end of June 2019, Alliander issued a new green bond with a nominal value of €300 million and a term of 13 years. This was our second green bond issue to date; the first was issued in 2016. Revenue from the issue of this green bond will be used to invest in the smart meter, and in the ‘fair meter’ in particular. The fair meter is the result of a joint venture of network operator Liander and several parties from across the industry, aimed at making the smart meter more sustainable. The bonds were issued at a coupon rate of 0.875% and an issue price of 98.628%.