
38
REPORT BY THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
PARENT COMPANY
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
SIGNATURES AUDITOR'S NOTE
18) Management of financial risks
Financial risks and the risk management process
The management of financial risks is the responsi-
bility of the CEO together with the Board of Directors.
The Board defines the main outlines of the company’s
financing and the general management principles for
financial risks, and it gives guidelines as necessary for
any special issues such as liquidity risk, interest risk,
credit risk, and the investment of surplus liquid funds.
The Board of Directors discusses the Group’s financial
standing and funding at its monthly meetings.
According to its strategy, the company may seek
growth through acquisitions of companies and busi-
ness operations. The implementation of these acquisi-
tions may require debt financing. Debt can also be used
for other strategic and operational purposes decided on
by the Board. Equity financing may also be used for all
financing needs, in particular for acquisitions of compa-
nies and business operations.
Types of financial risks
In its operational activities, the company may be
exposed to several types of financial risks, including
changes in currency exchange rates, interest rates,
and changes in the stock market. A central objective of
financial risk management is to identify financial market
risks that are relevant to the Group, and seek to mini-
mize the harmful effects of financial market changes on
the Group’s profit.
The main areas of financial risk management are:
(I) CURRENCY RISK
A significant export market for the company is the
United States, where the company has a subsidiary and
through which sales are conducted on the U.S. market.
The operating currency of the subsidiary is the U.S.
dollar. In sales to and local purchases in the U.S., the
company is exposed to a risk of fluctuating exchange
rates between the U.S. dollar and the euro. At the end
of the financial period, the company’s cash and cash
equivalents in U.S. dollars were USD 10,373,000. In the
event the euro strengthens against the U.S. dollar by 10
percent, this would decrease the company’s cash and
cash equivalents on the closing date by EUR 845,000.
Invoicing between Icare Finland Oy and Icare USA Inc.
and also between CenterVue S.p.A. and Icare USA Inc.
takes place in USD. The currency risk is borne by Icare
Finland Oy and CenterVue S.p.A. since business trans-
actions between Group companies are not hedged
against currency risks. Sales in U.S. dollars repre-
sent approximately 53.1% of the total net sales of the
Group's continuing functions. Icare USA Inc. had USD
5,283,000 in account receivables from sales on the
closing date. Icare USA Inc. had USD 2,719,000 cash in
bank on the closing date. Icare Finland Oy and Revenio
Group Corporation's USD accounts had a balance of
USD 7,653,000 on the closing date.
(II) INTEREST RATE RISK
In the company’s balance sheet structure, interest rate
risk is involved in borrowings. The Group’s profit and
cash flow from operations are to an essential extent
independent of fluctuations in market interest.
When taking up new financing, for example for corpo-
rate acquisitions, the company always evaluates the
need for interest rate hedging, taking into account the
amount of debt, hedging costs, and expected interest
rate development during the financing period. All of the
Group’s borrowings have fixed interest rates. As the
Group does not have floating rate loans, the Group is
not exposed to interest rate risk arising from changes in
interest rates. The company has no interest rate invest-
ments or derivatives to which cash flow hedging would
be applied.
(III) CREDIT RISK
The Group’s credit policy lays down the requirements for
selling on credit and the requirements for credit manage-
ment. The credit quality of a new customer is controlled
by applying for a credit insurance limit if necessary every
time a new customer relationship is established. The
credit limit and credit sales eligibility is reassessed if the
customer’s purchase volumes change or if the credit
insurance company changes the granted credit limit as a
result of a change in the customer’s credit quality.
No single customer or customer group constitutes
a significant credit risk concentration for the Group.
During the financial period, credit losses and expected
credit losses recognized through profit and loss totaled
EUR 6,000 (EUR 69,000). The theoretical maximum
credit risk at the end of the period corresponds to the
book value of sales receivables. The aging of sales
receivables is presented in Note 15.
(IV) LIQUIDITY RISK
The most significant factor affecting the sufficiency of
liquid funds in the short term is the profitability of the
business operations. Thus, the development of cash
flows from operations is affected by management’s
profitability management measures, and additionally,
operational risks and external risks such as general
economic development, financial market conditions,
and other macroeconomic demand factors over which
the company management has no control. The Group’s
liquidity in 2020 remained good. Liquid funds were
decreased in 2020 by the payment of dividends. On
December 31, 2020, the Group’s cash and cash equiv-
alents totaled EUR 28,878,000 (EUR 26,675,000).
The company continuously monitors and assesses the
financing needs of its business operations to ensure
sufficient liquidity for financing its operations. The
Board of Directors follows the actual and forecast devel-
opment of the Group’s liquidity monthly, and decides on
possible corrective actions.