Form and structure of the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2011
General information
The consolidated financial statements of the ACEA Group for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approved by the Board of Directors’ resolution on 21 March 2011. The Parent Company, ACEA SpA, is an Italian joint-stock company, with its registered office in Rome, at Piazzale Ostiense 2, and whose shares are traded on the Milan Stock Exchange.
The ACEA Group’s principal areas of activity are described in the Management Operations' Report.
Compliance with IAS/IFRS
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the IFRS effective at the end of the reporting period, and as approved by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and adopted by the European Union. The standards consist of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and of the Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC), collectively referred to as “IFRS”.
Basis of presentation
The consolidated financial statements consists of the consolidated balance sheet, consolidated income statement, statement of consolidated comprehensive income, consolidated cash flow statement and the statement of changes in consolidated shareholders’ equity. The Report also includes notes prepared under the IAS/IFRS currently in effect.
The income statement is classified on the basis of the nature of expenses, the balance sheet is based on the liquidity method by dividing between current and non-current items, whilst the cash flow statement is presented using the indirect method.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in euros and all amounts have been rounded off to the nearest thousand euros, unless otherwise indicated.
The figures in these consolidated financial statements are comparable to the figures in the previous period.
Alternative performance indicators
In line with recommendation CESR/05-178b, the content and meaning of non-GAAP measures of performance and other alternative performance indicators used in these financial statements are described below:
- gross operating profit is used by the ACEA Group as an indicator of operating performance and is calculated by adding “Amortisation, depreciation, provisions and impairment charges” to the operating result;
- net debt indicates the state of the Acea Group’s financial structure and is obtained by adding non-current borrowings and financial liabilities, less non-current financial assets (loans and receivables and securities other than investments), to current borrowings and other current liabilities, less current financial assets and cash and cash equivalents;
- net invested capital is the sum of “Current assets”, “Non-current assets” and assets and liabilities held for sale, less “Current liabilities” and “Non-current liabilities”, excluding items taken into account in calculating net debt.
Use of estimates
In application of IFRS, preparation of the consolidated financial statements required management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, costs, assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the end of the reporting period. The actual amounts may differ from such estimates. Estimates are used in order to make provisions for credit risk, obsolescent inventories, impairment charges incurred on assets, employee benefits, fair value of derivatives, taxes and other provisions. The original estimates and assumptions are periodically reviewed and the impact of any change is recognised in the income statement.
In addition, it should be noted that said evaluation processes, in particular the more complex ones such as the calculation of any impairments of non-current assets, are generally carried out fully during drafting of the financial statements, except where there are impairment indicators that call for an immediate evaluation of losses of value.