Annual Report 2011

Ž E L E Z I A R N E P O D B R E Z O V Á A . S . 19 It should be added that Železiarne Podbrezová a.s., as a significant employer, employed in its subsidiaries and affiliates an additional 3,890 employees in 2011, of which 864 employees in Slovakia in the area of production and services, and 66 in private schools of Železiarne Podbrezová a.s. In 2011, the subsidiaries in the Czech Republic employed 2,776 people and another 184 employees were employed in other companies abroad. In 2011, the ŽP GROUPemployed7,307employees. Our newspaper, Podbrezovan, is the longest-running company newspaper in Slovakia and has been published for 68 years. It is distributed to both present and former, retired employees, who receive information about the Company's operations on a continuous basis. The newspaper is an irreplaceable medium for informing company employees and the general public in the region about the operations in the parent company and its subsidiaries. TheCompany'stotalassetsrecognisedasat31December2011inaccordancewithInternationalFinancialReportingStandards(IFRS)amountedtoEUR 273,270 thousand, a year-on-year increase of EUR 16,767 thousand, i.e. 6.54%. The increase resulted from a higher balance of current assets by EUR 14,873 thousand, which came mainly from an increase in inventories by EUR 4,112 thousand and an increase in trade receivables from group companiesbyEUR11,167thousand.Owingtoaconservativeinvestmentpolicynon-currentassetonlyincreasedbyEUR1,894thousand. On the liabilities side, the asset coverage funding adequately increased, both in terms of equity and payables.The increase in equity was caused by the increase in retained earnings and the reserve fund by EUR 9,618 thousand. The increase in the balance of liabilities by EUR 7,149 thousand mainly results from an increase in trade payables by EUR 4,879 thousand and an increased tax liability by EUR 2,388 thousand.The equity to total assets ratio reached69.5%.TheCompany'sgearingdroppedto15.7%. REPORTONASSETS AND FINANCIALMANAGEMENT Assets and Funds 14% 1% Property, plant and equipment % Financial assets - % Receivables - % Inventories - % ther assets - % - 34 35 16 14 O 1 Structure of Assets as at 31 Dec 1201 16% 35% 34% 4% Equity % Interest-bearing loans and borrowings - % ther non-current liabilities - % - % - 69 16 O 11 4 Other current liabilities Structure of Liabilities as at 31 Dec 1201 11% 16% 69% REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ON THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, ASSETS, AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN 2011 AND INFORMATION ON THE BUSINESS PLAN