[2] Basis of preparation

The consolidated financial statements of the KION Group for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 have been prepared in accordance with section 315a of the German Commercial Code (HGB) which requires the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) applicable as at the reporting date as well as the associated interpretations (IFRICs) of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) as adopted by the European Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the application of international accounting standards. All of the IFRSs and IFRICs that were issued by the reporting date and that were required to be applied in the financial year 2012 have been applied in preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

Financial reporting standards adopted for the first time in the financial year under review:

The following financial reporting standard was adopted for the first time in 2012:

  • Amendments to IFRS 7 'Financial Instruments: Disclosures': disclosures relating to transfers of financial assets

The first-time adoption of this standard has had no significant effect on the presentation of the financial position or financial performance of the KION Group.

Financial reporting standards issued but not yet adopted

In the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012 the KION Group has not applied the following standards and interpretations, which have been issued by the IASB but are not yet required to be adopted in 2012:

  • Amendments to IFRS 1 'First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards': amendments relating to fixed transition dates and severe hyperinflation
  • Amendments to IFRS 1 'First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards': amendments relating to government loans with a below-market rate of interest
  • Amendments to IFRS 7 'Financial Instruments: Disclosures': offsetting of financial assets and financial liabilities
  • Amendments to IFRS 7 'Financial Instruments: Disclosures': disclosures about the transition to IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments'
  • IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments'
  • Amendments to IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments': mandatory effective date;
  • IFRS 10 'Consolidated Financial Statements'
  • Amendments to IFRS 10 'Consolidated Financial Statements': amendments relating to the consolidation of investment entities
  • IFRS 11 'Joint Arrangements'
  • IFRS 12 'Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities'
  • Amendments to IFRS 12 'Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities': amendments relating to the consolidation of investment entities
  • Transition Guidance (Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12)
  • IFRS 13 'Fair Value Measurement'
  • Amendments to IAS 1 'Presentation of Financial Statements': amendments relating to the presentation of items of other comprehensive income
  • Amendments to IAS 12 'Income Taxes': limited amendment to IAS 12 relating to the recovery of underlying assets
  • IAS 19R 'Employee Benefits'
  • IAS 27R 'Separate Financial Statements'
  • Amendments to IAS 27 'Separate Financial Statements': amendments relating to the consolidation of investment entities
  • IAS 28R 'Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures'
  • Amendments to IAS 32 'Financial Instruments: Presentation': offsetting of financial assets and financial liabilities
  • IFRIC 20 'Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine'
  • Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011).

These standards and interpretations will be applied by the companies included in the KION Group from the date on which they must be adopted for the first time.

The transitional requirements of the revised IAS 19R 'Employee Benefits' require retrospective application. In the KION Group, actuarial gains and losses, in consideration of deferred taxes, are already recognised in other comprehensive income (loss). The Management expects that first-time adoption of the revised IAS 19 for the financial year 2013 will increase net income (after income taxes) by €1,030 thousand and decrease other comprehensive income (after deferred taxes) by €983 thousand due to the alignment of the expected return on plan assets with the discount rate for 2012. The retrospective recognition of previously unrecognised past service cost will result in a reduction of retained earnings by €749 thousand as of 1 January 2012.

The impact of the first-time adoption of IFRS 10 'Consolidated Financial Statements' is currently still being evaluated, but we currently do not anticipate any material effects. The effects of the first-time adoption of the other standards and interpretations on the financial position and financial performance of the KION Group are expected to be insignificant.

The various amendments issued in May 2012 as part of the annual improvement project mainly relate to terminological and editorial aspects. They are not expected to have any significant effect on the presentation of the financial position and financial performance.

In order to improve the clarity of presentation, certain items are aggregated on the face of the statement of financial position and the income statement. The items concerned are presented and disclosed in the notes. Assets and liabilities are classified into current and non-current items in accordance with IAS 1.60. The consolidated income statement is prepared in accordance with the cost of sales (function-of-expense) method.

The reporting currency is the euro. All amounts are disclosed in thousands of euros (€ thousand) unless stated otherwise. The rounding of amounts added together may result in rounding differences of +/- €1 thousand in the corresponding totals. The separate financial statements included in the consolidation were prepared at the same reporting date as the annual financial statements of KION Holding 1 GmbH.

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