4.1 Adjusted net debt
PostNL Adjusted net debt in € million
2023, 2024
| At 31 December | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Short- and long-term debt | 740 | 674 |
| Long-term interest bearing assets | (15) | (13) |
| Cash and cash equivalents | (518) | (453) |
| Net debt | 207 | 208 |
| Pension liabilities/WGA self-insurance | 2 | 40 |
| Lease liabilities (on balance) | 320 | 299 |
| Lease liabilities (off balance)1 | 9 | 9 |
| Deferred tax assets on WGA and operational lease liabilities2 | (76) | (81) |
| Adjusted net debt | 462 | 474 |
- The lease liabilities (off balance) are the net present value of the Off balance sheet commitments relating to leases from note 3.9 of €11 million (2023: €10 million).
- The deferred tax assets relate for €10 million to the WGA self-insurance provision, for €69 million (2023: €74 million) to on balance lease liabilities, see note 3.7 Deferred income taxes and for €2 million (2023: €2 million) to off balance lease liabilities.
As at 31 December 2024, adjusted net debt amounted to €474 million (2023: €462 million). The increase of €12 million was mainly explained by the inclusion of the WGA self-insurance provision of €38 million, new leases and lease modifications/reassessments of €65 million in total and dividend payments of €22 million, partly offset by positive net cash from operating and investing activities of €107 million.
Reference is made to note 3.4 Leases, note 3.5 Other provisions and note 3.9 Commitments and contingencies for more detailed information on leases (on and off balance) and provisions.
Long-term interest bearing assets
Long-term interest bearing assets
As at 31 December 2024, long-term interest-bearing assets of €13 million (2023: €15 million) mainly included a lessor loan of €11 million (2023: €13 million) relating to the finance lease of a sorting machine by Bol.com. The expected credit loss amounts to €0 million.
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents
PostNL Cash and cash equivalents in € million
2023, 2024
| At 31 December | Nominal amount | Average amount | Effective interest rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank and in hand | 204 | ||
| Bank deposits | 80 | 160 | 3.0% |
| Money Market Funds | 234 | 218 | 3.2% |
| Total cash and cash equivalents 2023 | 518 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 98 | ||
| Bank deposits | 180 | 233 | 3.6% |
| Money Market Funds | 175 | 268 | 3.8% |
| Total cash and cash equivalents 2024 | 453 |
As at 31 December 2024, included in cash and cash equivalents was €0 million (2023: €0 million) of restricted cash. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents approximated the carrying value.
Debt
Debt
As at 31 December 2024, the total of debt-related liabilities consisted of long-term debt of €884 million (2023: €612 million) and short-term debt of €88 million (2023: €447 million).
PostNL Total borrowings - maturity schedule in € million
2024
| Eurobonds | Lease liabilities | Other loans | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 | 78 | 10 | 88 |
| 2026 | 299 | 68 | 10 | 377 |
| 2027 | 0 | 47 | 10 | 57 |
| Thereafter | 297 | 106 | 47 | 450 |
| Total borrowings | 596 | 299 | 77 | 972 |
| Of which included in long-term debt | 596 | 221 | 67 | 884 |
| Of which included in short-term debt | 0 | 78 | 10 | 88 |
In 2024, the other loans of €77 million included the liability of future (legal) lease payments for land, buildings and machinery of four Parcels' sorting centres and sorting machines with an effective interest rate of 1.3% up until 3.9%.
The following table presents the cash and the non-cash changes in debt during 2024.
PostNL Reconciliation debt in € million
2024
| Eurobonds | Lease liabilities | Other loans | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at 1 January 2024 | 651 | 320 | 88 | 1,059 |
| Proceeds | 297 | 0 | 297 | |
| Repayments/lease-incentives | (353) | (84) | (11) | (448) |
| Total cash movements | (56) | (84) | (11) | (151) |
| New leases | 47 | 47 | ||
| Lease modifications/reassessments | 18 | 18 | ||
| Disposal of leases | (1) | (1) | ||
| Commencement of lease financing | 4 | 4 | ||
| Settlement of pre-financing | (4) | (4) | ||
| Amortisation | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total non-cash movements | 1 | 63 | 0 | 64 |
| Balance at 31 December 2024 | 596 | 299 | 77 | 972 |
The decrease in debt in 2024 is due to the repayment of a eurobond of €353 million and the issuance of a €300 million sustainability-linked eurobond with an annual coupon of 4.750% in June 2024. Refer to note 4.5 for more details on the current outstanding eurobonds.
The following table presents the cash and the non-cash changes in debt during 2023.
PostNL Reconciliation debt in € million
2023
| Eurobonds | Lease liabilities | Other loans | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance at 1 January 2023 | 697 | 331 | 48 | 1,076 |
| Proceeds | 19 | 19 | ||
| Repayments | (47) | (81) | (4) | (132) |
| Total cash movements | (47) | (81) | 15 | (113) |
| New leases | 61 | 61 | ||
| Lease modifications/reassessments | 10 | 10 | ||
| Disposal of leases | (1) | (1) | ||
| Pre-financing related to building of NLI/sorter | 25 | 25 | ||
| Commencement of SPV financing | 37 | 37 | ||
| Settlement of pre-financing | (37) | (37) | ||
| Amortisation | 1 | 1 | ||
| Total non-cash movements | 1 | 70 | 25 | 96 |
| Balance at 31 December 2023 | 651 | 320 | 88 | 1,059 |
In 2023, the €25 million non-cash movement relates to the financing of lease contracts by an entity especially set up for this purpose by a third party (SPV). The financing was established via a pre-financing during the building phase. The pre-financing was performed via a specific revolving credit facility. In 2023, at the time of the related sale and lease back transactions, an amount of €37 million of pre-financing was replaced by financing from the SPV. In 2024, the remaining pre-financing balance of €4 million was replaced by a finance lease from a bank.