Las corrientes vehiculares

Opportunities

Unlike many other companies in the chemical indus- try, hansa groUp has specific strategic advan- tages which it exploits extremely well within its sector to achieve continued future growth. the Com- pany focuses on care chemicals, and consequently, primarily on detergents, cleaning agents and body care products, all of which are relatively immune to economic fluctuations. given the current status of production, there is currently still additional potential for improving margins within this product group, both via backward integration and greater depth of pro- duction. services for the chemical industry, for which there is steadily increasing demand, will also contri- bute to a further positive trend in operating results. We see opportunities to expand our market position in Europe in all of our areas of business. along with neighboring Western European countries such as france, great Britain and the Benelux states, we also have our sights on Eastern European growth mar- kets, including poland and the Czech republic. We also believe we can unlock further opportuni- ties by seizing potential in the value added chain. this includes optimizing production processes and logistics in particular. We can increase productivity within production processes through learning effects alone. In terms of logistics, we are focusing on the production sites in genthin and greven. We are also continuing to pursue our chemical park model, in which we aim to attract suppliers and business part- ners to set up shop at our production sites.

Risks

hansa groUp’s positive development prospects expose us to high standards and risks, which must be met and averted respectively. the rapid growth and the associated changes during the previ- ous years necessitate, in particular, the judicious

modification of the Company’s organizational struc- tures and continuous monitoring of the risks identi- fied.

Financial risks

In order to minimize default risk for trade receivables and prevent bad debt losses, collateral (e.g. retention of ownership) is required, credit information or refe- rences are obtained or historical data from the pre- vious business relationship (in particular, payment behavior), depending on the nature and amount of the respective transaction.

In addition, insurance has been taken out to hedge any remaining credit risks. neither during the year under review, nor in previous years, have we recor- ded any significant defaults or made adjustments to accounts receivable figures to allow for potential def- aults.

hansa group is exposed to currency and price risks in the course of its normal business activi- ties (see also notes 7.6 Disclosures on financial instruments). derivative financial instruments are

used in cases in which hedging is intended. they are only used to cover items, receivables and planned transactions resulting from ongoing business opera- tions. derivative financial instruments expose hansa groUp to a credit risk resulting from non-fulfillment of contractual agreements by the other party. such transactions are therefore conducted solely with banks. the derivative financial instruments used are forward exchange transactions, the volume of which amounted to 9.8 million Usd as of december 31, 2012 (previous year: 3.2 million Usd).

Long-term loans at fixed rates of interest are taken out in order to minimize interest rate risks in the con- text of refinancing. Keeping external liabilities as low as possible is one of hansa groUp ag’s finan- cial management’s priorities. this is why short-term financing of non-current assets has been used in

the past. although there is a general refinancing risk, this is classed as low given the use of new finan- cing instruments. there is a basic risk of a change in interest rates, but no negative effects are anticipated due to, among other things, the inclusion of these factors in price calculation.

any “open items” are measured using recognized valuation methods.

the long payment periods allowed for exports are a typical feature of the chemical industry. although there is a liquidity risk, it may be considered low due to equity increases, the use of long-term financial instruments and additional measures taken to safe- guard liquidity in the form of credit lines.

assuring adequate liquidity at all times is a central function of hansa groUp’s financial management. the Company’s financial reporting system supplies information on the actual financial status and antici- pated cash flows. It is therefore possible to obtain an up-to-date picture of the trend in liquidity at any time. the Company has at its disposal approved free cre- dit lines in order to assure that it has sufficient funds to operate its daily business. the Company had at its disposal current account credit lines amounting to 40 million euro as of december 31, 2012. of these, around 35.1 million euro had been drawn as of the balance sheet date. together with bank deposits totaling some 17.9 million euro, available liquidity the- refore came to 20.8 million euro. the risk that expi- ring credit lines and/or loan agreements will not be extended exists in principle. the management Board continues to assume that sufficient credit lines and loans will also still be available in the future.

financial instruments such as forfaiting and recei- vables financing (aBs program) are used in order to assure future liquidity and compensate for major pre- financing transactions. nordLB successfully set up a new aBs program in conjunction with raiffeisenbank International, in which all group companies are inclu- ded. the transaction volume amounts to 45 million euro. the aBs program is implemented via nordLB Luxembourg and initially has a term of three years. as a result, the aBs program with portigon, formerly WestLB, was successfully replaced as of february 2013. the reverse factoring agreement with Coface finanz gmbh is still in existence and can still be uti- lized up to a volume of 20 million euro as of decem- ber 31, 2012.

the risk of asset impairment can occur if the assu- med interest rate applied in an impairment test changes or the forecast cash flows decline. We do not expect any change to the above parameters over the medium term. the established structures and improved organizational and reporting processes therefore lead us to classify the impairment loss risk for individual assets such as customer relations, brands, technologies and goodwill as minimal in light of the current business environment.

the financing instruments such as the aBs program and reverse factoring are being continuously opti- mized in order to assure hansa groUp’s future solvency in the long term. Credit and accounts paya- ble management is also being further improved. In addition, the annual general meeting has approved a number of provisions for increasing the Company’s capital stock, which in addition to securing the liqui- dity situation can be used for refinancing the invest- ments made in recent years, as well as improving balance sheet ratios by strengthening the equity base and, where appropriate, for the repayment of borrowed capital.

hansa groUp has held a 100 percent interest in ChEmIsChE faBrIK WIBarCo gmbh since december 3, 2007. the loss-of-value risk of this investment is countered by means of regu- lar reporting, supplying detailed information on this subsidiary’s economic development.

monthly corporate economic development reports are also prepared for the WasChmIttELWErK gEnthIn gmbh subsidiary, which was founded in 2009. Close contacts between those locally respon- sible and the management Board also assures that reporting is up-to-date at all times. hansa groUp ag is the guarantor, to an amount of 37.3 million euro, for a loan provided to WasChmIttELWErK gEnthIn gmbh in the context of project financing. . the existing loan guarantee was extended accordin- gly by 6.5 million euro to 43.8 million euro effective January 3, 2012. the provision of this loan is con- tingent on adherence to certain financial indicators (covenants) on the basis of the consolidated finan- cial statements. some covenants were not fulfilled in 2012. only the non-attainment or non-compliance with covenants over the long term would lead, after the expiry of an appropriate notice period without success, to the provision or increase of collateral and/or an increase in margins. hansa groUp ag has also submitted a letter of comfort to agg anhal- tinische gas gmbh constituting a guarantee of liqui- dity to assume responsibility for financial obligations up to a maximum of 500 thousand euro in the con- text of a long-term contract made by WasChmIt- tELWErK gEnthIn gmbh for supply of electricity. hansa groUp ag has held 100 percent of the shares in LUhns gmbh since may 10, 2010. here, too, the value risk is countered by means of regular reporting, which supplies detailed information on this

company’s economic development. hansa groUp ag has submitted a declaration of guarantee to LUhns gmbh to hedge all of the latter’s receivables from savanna ag and hansa Chemie International gmbh & Co. Kg (formerly gnann gmbh & Co Kg).

market risk