Cash flow

Consolidated cash flow statement

A summary of the cash flow statement for 2022 is shown below.

Cash flow from operating activities

The cash flow from operating activities in 2022 amounted to €572 million (2021: €664 million). The decrease of €92 million compared to 2021 was mainly due to the movement in working capital. In particular, larger inventories were held in order to be able to implement projects on time. In addition, net profit was €44 million lower in 2022 than in 2021.

Cash flow from investing activities

The cash outflow from investing activities in 2022 was €1,175 million, compared with an outflow of €639 million in 2021. Of this difference, €221 million was due to higher investments and lower investment contributions. In addition, security deposits of €100 million relating to the cost of network losses were paid in 2022. And bonds worth €198 million were repaid in 2021 due to the premature termination of two cross-border lease (CBL) transactions.

Investments

In 2022, the investments increased by €214 million relative to 2021. This is almost entirely due to the increased investments in the power grids (€158 million) 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. Compared to 2021, investments in the gas networks rose by €21 million. Investment in 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 €49 million in 2022. 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). 

Free cash flow

The free cash flow in 2022 was an outflow of €603 million, compared with a free cash inflow in 2021 of €25 million. This difference is almost entirely due to higher investments, security deposits paid and the redemption of the General Electric notes in connection with the early termination of two CBL contracts in 2021.

Cash flow from financing activities

The cash flow from financing activities for 2022 amounted to €184 million (2021: €301 million). The green bond issued in 2022 led to an incoming cash flow of €498 million. In addition, €300 million was raised from ECP financing. This was largely offset by items such as the contractual repayment of bonds under the EMTN programme (€400 million), the dividend distribution of €101 million and repayments on security deposits received in the past worth €72 million.

In 2021, the subordinated loan issued previously led to an incoming cash flow of €599 million. Another incoming cash flow of €72 million was due to security deposits received in 2021. This was offset by lease payments (€206 million) due to the premature termination of two CBL contracts, repayment obligations (€48 million) and the dividend distributed (€94 million).