Due to the particular significance of the amortization of intangible assets to the Merck Group, this item is disclosed separately in the income statement. This item mainly included amortization of intangible assets in connection with the purchase price allocations for Serono and Millipore. Amortization of intangible assets decreased to € 871.6 million in 2012 from € 1,004.7 million in 2011. The decrease was due to the fact that in 2011, this item included impairment losses classified as one-time items amounting to € 166.8 million, whereas in 2012 no impairment losses were included under this item. Amortization of software is allocated to the respective functional costs.
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