In particular, the Group is required, under the RCF Loan Agreement, to comply with certain commitments described in Section 3.4.3 “Liquidity risks” (see also Section 9.2.2(a) “RCF Loan Agreement” of this Prospectus).
The Group’s contractual obligations and off-balance sheet commitments, including the principal commitments resulting from the agreements signed with Sanofi as part of the Prior Reorganization Transactions of the Group, are presented and described in Note D.23 of the financial statements.
9.4 | Presentation and analysis of the main categories of use of the Group’s cash |
9.4.1 | Financing of working capital requirements and of other current assets and liabilities |
Inventories amounted to €569.5 million at December 31, 2021, €584.1 million at December 31, 2020, and €596.9 million at December 31, 2019, i.e., a decrease of €14.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, and a decrease of €12.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in inventory levels over the period is primarily related to the program to reduce inventories initiated by the Group, as well as the drop in demand in 2021. Moreover, in the context of the Prior Reorganization Transactions, the Company purchased inventories for €25 million for the placement of the Reverse MSA covering the B12 salts and the Francopia activity.
Accounts receivable amounted to €238.9 million at December 31, 2021, €194.7 million at December 31, 2020, and €204.4 million at December 31, 2019, i.e., an increase of €44.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, and a decrease of €9.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in accounts receivable at December 31, 2021 primarily reflects the establishment of the Global Manufacturing and Supply Agreement with Sanofi.
Accounts payable amounted to €189.6 million at December 31, 2021, €131.1 million at December 31, 2020, and €120.4 million at December 31, 2019, i.e., an increase of €58.5 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, and an increase of €10.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in accounts payable at December 31, 2021 is primarily the result of the temporary payments shutdowns that were necessary for the installation of the new IT systems, commissioned on the various dates of the Prior Reorganization Transactions.
Working capital requirement mainly corresponds to the value of inventories plus accounts receivable and minus accounts payable. The Group’s working capital requirement amounted to €618.8 million, 647.7 million and €680.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
Other current assets amounted to €75.5 million at December 31, 2021, €51.3 million at December 31, 2020, and €39.9 million at December 31, 2019, i.e., an increase of €24.2 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, and an increase of €11.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase observed at December 31, 2021 is related to a VAT credit not paid at December 31, generated by the establishment of the subcontracting flows with Sanofi on October 1, 2021, and the establishment of the indemnification of environmental liabilities granted by Sanofi on the non-operational sites, a portion of which is recognized in other current assets.
Other current liabilities amounted to €192.7 million at December 31, 2021, €176.3 million at December 31, 2020, and €145.7 million at December 31, 2019, i.e., an increase of €16.4 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, and an increase of €30.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase in other liabilities primarily represents the increase in accounts payable for non-current assets.
9.4.2 | Capital expenditures |
Total capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2021 amounted to €88.6 million and €88.4 million and €81.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively (representing 9.9%, 9.4% and 8.9% of consolidated revenues, respectively, or 9.8%, 9.3% and 9.2% of
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