Any consolidated activities within continuing operations that are outside the four Business Units are reported as Corporate activities. These comprise operating and service activities, as well as a number of costs that cannot be allocated directly to the Business Units. While this segment reports net sales to third parties from its service units, it normally has a negative operating result.
Corporate activities include various holding companies, regional holdings and corporate overheads. The most significant cost elements are corporate departments and the share-based compensation for the company.
x € million |
|
Pro forma |
|
IFRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sales |
|
66 |
|
68 |
Adjusted EBITDA |
|
(79) |
|
(78) |
Insurances
We retain a limited part of our material damage, business interruption, (product) liability and other risks via our captive insurance companies. In 2023, the total retained damages were €25 million (2022: €15 million).
Corporate research
We centrally invest in a focused number of clearly defined disruptive technology platforms, managed by our Senior Science Fellows, through which we aim to create greater differentiation over the long-term. These underpin early-stage innovation projects that are co-funded with the relevant business, following the principles of co-leadership, milestone-based funding, and assumption-based working, in order to provide market-ready scientific breakthroughs in the future.
Share-based payments
Executives participate in the Long-Term Incentive (LTI) scheme. This links their compensation to the long-term interests of our company’s stakeholders. It also provides a vehicle for the attraction and retention of suitable employees.
As shares/share units have become more prevalent in the market, we replaced stock options with shares/share units in 2017. This resulted in better alignment with the LTI vehicle already in place for the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. The use of shares/share units also targets yet closer alignment with the interests of our stakeholders. For detailed information, see Note 27 Share-based compensation to the Consolidated financial statements.