Other operating expenses and income can be broken down as follows:
| XLS |
|
|
|
|
|
€ million |
2011 |
2010 |
|
Impairment losses |
–185.5 |
–65.5 |
|
Write-downs of receivables |
–123.7 |
–19.7 |
|
Restructuring and integration costs |
–67.7 |
–64.4 |
|
Litigation |
–61.1 |
–89.2 |
|
Premiums, fees and contributions |
–52.0 |
–52.8 |
|
Project costs |
–39.5 |
–79.2 |
|
Non-income-related taxes |
–29.2 |
–23.7 |
|
Impairment losses on Greek sovereign bonds |
–18.0 |
– |
|
Expense for services performed |
–17.8 |
–21.0 |
|
Other operating expenses |
–130.1 |
–111.3 |
|
Total other operating expenses |
–724.6 |
–526.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
Gains on disposals of assets |
53.0 |
37.6 |
|
Payments for services performed |
30.5 |
26.8 |
|
Exchange rate differences from operating activities |
12.3 |
24.7 |
|
Release of write-downs of receivables |
9.2 |
10.0 |
|
Other operating income |
37.7 |
37.3 |
|
Total other operating income |
142.7 |
136.4 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total other operating expenses and income |
–581.9 |
–390.4 |
Owing to expected overcapacity at the Large-Scale Biotech production plant (LSB) currently being built at the Merck Serono Biotech Center in Switzerland, an impairment loss of € 165.1 million was recognized in 2011. The write-downs of receivables relate in 2011 mainly to receivables from state hospitals and health care organizations in Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal and are due to the existing uncertainties in connection with the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone. Integration costs amounting to € 37.9 million were incurred in respect of Millipore (2010: € 87.3 million). Of this amount, € 36.5 million was disclosed under “restructuring and integration costs” (2010: € 53.4 million) and € 1.4 million was disclosed under “project costs“ (2010: € 33.9 million). Moreover, in 2011 restructuring and integration costs included expenses of € 12.8 million in connection with the decision to no longer further pursue the approval process for cladribine tablets. Initial measures in connection with the efficiency-enhancement and cost-reduction program were already taken in 2011. The resulting expenses of € 16.3 million were likewise recorded under “restructuring and integration costs.”
Apart from the costs related to the Millipore acquisition, project costs mainly also include expenses incurred in connection with Group-wide IT projects. These include, for example, projects to harmonize IT applications and infrastructure throughout the Group. Other operating expenses include, among other things, special environmental protection costs and non-allocatable personnel expenses. The breakdown of other operating expenses and income by business sector and division is presented in the Segment Reporting (see Note [35]).