Annual accounts
General information
Gimv NV
Public Limited Company
Registered office
Karel Oomsstraat 37
2018 Antwerp
T +32 3 290 21 00
F +32 3 290 21 05
info@gimv.com
www.gimv.com
Commercial register: Antwerp no. 222.348
Enterprise no.: 0220.324.117
Date of formation: 25/02/1980
Financial year: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011
Financial servicing: KBC Bank
Number of shares (31 March 2011): 23 176 005
Limited consolidation versus statutory consolidation
From the 2005 financial year onwards Gimv has been required to prepare its consolidated annual financial statements in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as approved for application in the European Union. The Group has opted, after the transition to IFRS, to continue presenting two kinds of consolidated accounts, that is the ‘statutory’ consolidation and a ‘limited’ consolidation.
Statutory consolidation
A significant impact of the transition to IFRS is that a number of companies in the investment portfolio which the Gimv group is deemed to control in accordance with IAS 27 (scope of consolidation) have to be fully consolidated. Given that these investments have been made expressly with a view to creating capital gains and generating income, we believe that the consolidation of enterprises included in the investment portfolio is not a relevant yardstick for measuring the Gimv group’s performance and can even be potentially misleading. The companies in question are HVEG Investments (Fashion Linq), OGD, De Groot International Investments, Interbrush, Grandeco Wallfashion Group, Verlihold, Numac Investments, VCST, OTN Systems and Scana Noliko, which we refer to hereafter as majority shareholdings.
Gimv regrets that the IASB, in its improvements project, has still failed to include an exception for the consolidation of investment companies on the lines of those included for associates and joint ventures. Such an exemption from consolidation exists, for example, under US GAAP and Australian GAAP.
In the light of the first-time application of ‘IAS 1 revised’ we note that Gimv does not have any items that need to be included in a separate statement of realised and unrealised profits. The changes in translation differences are presented separately in '3. Statement of changes in consolidated equity' in accordance with IAS 39.
Limited consolidation
To meet the information needs of annual report readers, we consider it necessary to produce a second set of financial statements in addition to the consolidated annual statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as approved by the European Union. This 'limited' consolidation fully consolidates only the investment company subsidiaries; the other companies which under IAS 27 Gimv is deemed to control, but which belong to the investment portfolio, are valued at fair value in accordance with the international valuation guidelines for private equity companies.
The consolidated financial statements are expressed in thousands of euros unless otherwise mentioned.
The consolidated financial statements of Gimv NV at 31 March 2011 were approved for publication by the board of directors on 17 May 2011.
Impact of new or amended standards applicable after 31 March 2010
The basic principles of financial reporting are consistent with those of the previous year.
The following new and amended IFRS standards and IFRIC interpretations, where relevant to Gimv, have been applied from 1 April 2010:
- IFRS 2 - Share-based payments - Group Cash-settled Share-based Payments, applicable from 1 January 2010;
- IFRS 3 - Business Combinations (Revised) and IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements (amended), applicable from 1 July 2009;
- IAS 39 - Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement - Eligible Hedged Items, applicable from 1 July 2009
- IFRIC 12 - Service Concession Arrangements, applicable from 1 April 2009;
- IFRIC 15 - Arrangements for the Construction of Real Estate, applicable from 1 January 2010;
- IFRIC 16 - Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation, applicable from 1 July 2009;
- IFRIC 17 - Distribution of Non-cash Assets to Owners, applicable from 1 November 2009;
- IFRIC 18 - Transfer of Assets from Customers, applicable from 1 November 2009;
- Improvements to IFRSs (published May 2008), applicable from 1 January 2010;
- Improvements to IFRSs (published April 2009), applicable from 1 January 2010;
- IFRS Practice Statement Management Commentary. The Practice Statement is not an IFRS standard. Consequently, an entity does not have to comply with the Practice Statement in order to comply with IFRS. Applicable from 8 December 2010.
The above changes have no impact on the financial statements of Gimv.
Significant judgements and estimates
In putting together the balance sheet and income statement, estimates or assumptions are often made that influence the assets or liabilities reported at balance sheet closing date and the income and charges for the reporting period. Although such estimates are made in a rational fashion, based on management’s knowledge of the business, it is possible that actual figures will differ from the estimated figures. The largest risk of material adaptations relates to the estimates made in determining the fair value of the financial assets and loans to companies in the investment (done in accordance with the valuation rules described in item 5.11).