Quarterly report 4rd quarter 2019 is published

The quarterly report for the fourth quarter of 2019 has been published. You can download the report via our website.

In the fourth quarter, the current funding ratio increased from 110.9% at the end of September 2019 to 117.0% at the end of December 2019. The increase in the funding ratio was due to the higher interest rate and stock markets showing good returns. This was mainly because investors have become more positive now that two risks to the global economy have declined in a short time. The trade war between the US and China has subsided, while in the short term the chance of a hard Brexit has decreased. Due to the rise in interest rates, the return on the fixed-income portfolio was negative. But the negative effect on the funding ratio was more than offset by a decrease in the provision for pension liabilities. On balance, the higher interest rate therefore led to a higher funding ratio. Due to the good stock returns, the value of the portfolio with return assets increased. Due to the rise in interest rates and the increase in the portfolio with return assets, the funding ratio rose by slightly more than 6 percentage points in the fourth quarter.