These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of commercial accounting as set out in the Swiss Code of Obligations (Art. 957 to 963b CO, effective since ­1 January 2013). Significant financial statement items are accounted for as follows: 

Principle of prudence and relationship with fiscal regulations
For replacement purposes and to ensure the long-term prosperity of the undertaking, additional depreciation and valuation adjustments may be made. For the same purposes, the cancellation of depreciation and valuation adjustments that are no longer justified may be dispensed with.

Recognition of revenue
Revenues comprise all proceeds from services rendered by Mikron Holding AG. These revenues are recognized if the amount of revenue can be reliably measured and it is sufficiently probable that the economic benefits will flow to Mikron Holding AG.

Services and other income
The services and other income materially only include a fee charged to Group companies for the use of the Mikron trademark.  

Other operating expenses
The other operating expenses include the costs for the administration of the Group, costs for maintenance of the trademarks and their protection as well as the compensation of the Board of Directors.                          

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments with a quoted market price
Cash and cash equivalents are valuated at their nominal value. Excessive cash is partially invested in marketable securities that are valuated at market value.

Loans to and loans from Group companies
Loans to Group companies are valuated at cost less impairment and loans from Group companies at their nominal value. For entities with negative equity as per the valuation of the investment and impairment in the same extent is recognized on the respecitve loans to those Group companies. The short-/long-term classification is evaluated on the expected cash flows of the individual companies. Maturities of third-party financing contracts in the individual Group companies are taken into consideration.

Investments
Investments exclusively comprise investments in Group companies and are reported at cost less impairments. The assessment of the recoverable amount of these investments is based on the individual equity value of the subsidiaries measured in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER.

Foreign currencies
Monetary and non-monetary items in foreign currency are translated into Swiss francs at the following exchange rates: