31. Leases

Group as lessee

The Group has lease contracts for rolling stock, real estate and other operating assets that are used in its operations. The Group’s obligations under the leases are safeguarded by the lessor's right to the ownership of the leased assets. Generally, the Group’s possibilities for subleasing the leased assets are restricted.

The Group also has certain lease contracts for machines with a lease term of 12 months or less and lease contracts for low-value office equipment. The Group applies the recognition criteria for exemptions for ‘short-term leases’ and ‘leases of low-value assets’ for these lease contracts.

The carrying amounts of the recognised right-of-use assets and the changes during the period are stated below.

(in millions of euros)

Rolling stock

Real estate

Other

Total

Composition as at 1 January 2023

Purchase price

473

160

3

636

Accumulated depreciation and impairments

124

66

-

190

Book value as at 31 December 2023

349

94

3

446

Changes in 2023

Additions

15

18

-

33

Depreciation

-74

-17

-

-91

Impairment losses

-116

-5

-

-121

Other movements

5

-4

-

1

Total changes during the financial year

-170

-8

-

-178

Composition as at 31 December 2023

Purchase price

506

172

3

681

Accumulated depreciation and impairments

327

86

-

413

Book value as at 31 December 2023

179

86

3

268

Changes in 2024

Additions

12

27

2

41

Held for sale

-141

-9

-

-150

Depreciation

-36

-15

-

-51

Impairment losses

-

-1

-

-1

Other movements

-1

-1

-1

-3

Total changes during the financial year

-166

1

1

-164

Composition as at 31 December 2024

Purchase price

158

183

5

346

Accumulated depreciation and impairments

145

96

1

242

Book value as at 31 December 2024

13

87

4

104

Depreciation in 2024 includes €13 million in depreciation of the assets of the divested business in Germany for the period from 1 January 2024 to 1 April 2024, which is included in the income statement under ‘Result from discontinued operations’.

The carrying amounts of the lease liabilities and the changes during the period are stated below:

(in millions of euros)

2024

2023

Lease liabilities as at 1 January

404

464

Additions

41

39

Held for sale

-269

-

Interest allocated

3

6

Payments

-58

-105

Other movements

-

-

Total changes

-283

-60

Lease liabilities as at 31 December

121

404

Presented under:

Non-current

91

315

Current

30

89

Due to the sale of ATH GmbH in 2024, the lease liability as at 31 December 2024 relates entirely to the Netherlands (31 December 2023: €122 million Netherlands and €282 million Germany).

The maturity analysis of lease liabilities is disclosed in note 26.

The following amounts are recognised in the income statement:

(in millions of euros)

2024

2023

Depreciation of right-of-use assets

38

45

Impairments

1

-

Interest expense on lease contracts

2

6

Total recognised in the income statement

41

51

The Group has no lease arrangements with material variable lease payments.

Accounting policy

The Group recognises a right-of-use asset and a lease liability at the commencement date of the lease arrangement. The right-of-use asset is initially measured at cost, comprising the initial amount of the lease liability, adjusted for any lease payments made at or before the commencement date of the lease arrangement, plus any initial direct costs incurred and an estimate of the costs of dismantling and removing the underlying asset or restoring the underlying asset or restoring the site on which it is located, less any lease incentives received.

The right-of-use asset is subsequently depreciated on a straight-line basis from the commencement date until the end of the lease term. The average depreciation periods are as follows:

  • Rolling stock 6 years

  • Real estate 11 years

  • Miscellaneous 9 years

In addition, the right-of-use asset is periodically reduced by any impairment losses and adjusted for certain remeasurements of the lease liability.

The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted using the Group's incremental borrowing rate. The incremental borrowing rate of interest consists of the risk-free rate plus a surcharge for country risk with account being taken of the object. The lease liability is measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. It is remeasured if there is a change in the future lease payments as a result of a change in an index or rate, if there is change in the Group's estimate of the amount expected to be payable under a residual value guarantee or if the Group changes its assessment of whether it will exercise a purchase, extension or termination option.

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