The writedown is “not cash effective and no impact on earnings before tax or cash flow in 2017”, the company said, adding that the outlook for a significant increase in 2017 group share of profit remained unchanged. The company’s 2017 dividend would also be unaffected.
Going forward, the Germany-based company said that the cutting of the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, which went into effect from the beginning of 2018, would provide a boost to the company’s net profit and cashflow. The exact impact could not yet be quantified, however, as implementation rules from the US tax authorities were still pending.
