Notes to the Group Account

The consolidated annual accounts of MCH Group Ltd. comply with the specialist recommendations for accounting (Swiss GAAP FER) and thus fulfil the requirements of the SIX Swiss Exchange Directives for the “Swiss Reporting Standard” segment. They present a true and fair view of the group's assets, financial assets and earnings and have been drawn up on the assumption that the corporate activity will be continued. The group accounts are based on the principle of individual valuation for assets and liabilities and on historical acquisition costs, with the exception of the financial instruments that are available for sale, which are assessed at their current values.

The group accounts include the annual accounts of MCH Group Ltd. as well as all the group companies, observing the following criteria:

Initial consolidation is performed at the time at which MCH Group Ltd. acquires control over the company. The assets and liabilities of the company acquired are valued at their current value at the time of acquisition, applying uniform group principles. Any difference remaining between the purchase price and the equity of the acquired company following this re-evaluation is directly charged against or credited to the retained earnings as goodwill. Upon disposal of an investment, the goodwill previously recognised in equity is taken into account at the original cost for purposes of determining the gain or loss on disposal of the investment recognised in profit or loss. This transaction is disclosed on a separate line in the equity statement. Transaction costs are recognised as expenses.

In performing full consolidation, 100% of the assets, liabilities, income and expenditure are included. Any shares of minority shareholders in the equity and profits of the consolidated companies are stated separately in the group balance sheet and the group income statement. Intragroup assets and liabilities, and also expenditure and income from intragroup transactions and relations between intragroup companies are eliminated, as are profits from intragroup transactions. Changes in a parent company's ownership share in a subsidiary that do not result in the parent company losing control of the subsidiary are treated as equity transactions (i.e. transactions with owners in their capacity as owners). When shares are sold to minority shareholders, the difference between the selling price and the pro-rata book value of the net assets sold is recognised in retained earnings.

Annual accounts for consolidated companies in foreign currencies are converted as follows: current assets, non-current assets and liabilities at year-end rates (reporting date rate); shareholders’ equity at historical rates. The income statement and cash flow statement are converted at the average rate for the year. The resultant currency translation differences are recognised in equity without affecting the operating result.

Items kept in foreign currencies are converted applying the reporting date exchange rate method. All assets and liabilities are converted at the exchange rate on the balance sheet date. The effects of foreign currency adjustments are included in the income statement. Unrealised exchange gains are similarly recognised in net income.

Transactions in foreign currencies are converted at the official monthly average rate of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration for the month in question (previous year for third-party sales without value added tax, on the basis of the currently weekly exchange rate). Other transactions in in foreign currencies can also be converted at the current exchange rate.

The annual accounts are drawn up on the basis of correct period accrual. The impact of business transactions and other occurrences is thus reported at the time they take place and not at the time cash and cash equivalents are received or paid. This means inter alia that expenses and income are assigned to and recognised in the relevant periods. A check is carried out on all assets at the end of the year to establish whether there are any signs that the book value of the asset is in excess of the realisable value (value impairment). If an impairment can be demonstrated, the book value is reduced to the realisable value, with the impairment being charged to the result for the period in question

The MCH Group achieves its sales with exhibitions, events and stand construction projects. The sales and associated expenditure for exhibitions and events are recognised, affecting net income, at the time the event is held. The last day of the exhibition or event is decisive for recognition in net income. Profit from stand construction projects is realised at the time of the event, or when the benefits and risks of the delivery and/or service pass to the purchaser. Deposits received from customers or paid to suppliers for projects in future business years are entered as prepayments and deferred income on the balance sheet.

Cash and cash equivalents include cash holdings and cash at banks and the Post Office, as well as short-term fixed deposits (remaining term less than 90 days). They are stated at their nominal value.

Receivables are stated at their net value, i.e. after deduction of any appropriate impairment (bad debt provision). Receivables are first written down individually and then a lump-sum value adjustment performed on the remaining balance on the basis of experience acquired, without taking into account the country of origin, as follows:

Due date of invoice and value adjustment as a % of sum invoiced:

The valuation of assets held for sale does not differ from the fundamental valuation of assets as per Swiss GAAP FER. Since the value in use is no longer appropriate, a value adjustment is made on the basis of the net market value less the costs incurred in selling. If no current value is available, the assets held for sale are valued at most at acquisition cost less any impairment.

Other receivables (including fixed deposits with a remaining term in excess of 90 days) and loans granted to others are stated at their nominal value minus any impairment.

Prepayments, accruals and deferrals are valued according to the principles that apply for receivables and liabilities. The prepayments and accrued income include both third-party and own work entered into the books in the reporting year for exhibitions and events taking place the following year (with the exception of work in progress on stand construction) and any sales for the reporting year that have not yet been invoiced. The accrued expenses and deferred income take in already-invoiced income from exhibitions, events and stand construction for the following year, as well as supplier invoices that have not yet arrived for goods and services already received. The accruals for current income tax are also stated under accrued expenses and deferred income.

Tangible fixed assets are included in the balance sheet at acquisition or production cost and measured with allowance for the scheduled straight-line depreciation and any impairment. Depreciation of tangible fixed assets commences on the first day of their use. Assets under construction are thus not depreciated. The depreciation period corresponds to the estimated useful life and is as follows:

If it is ascertained that the useful life of a fixed asset is changing, especially as a result of technical progress, the state of the asset or the market, the residual book value of the asset will be depreciated over its new envisaged remaining useful life.

Services provided by our own employees in creating tangible fixed assets are not included as assets on account of the type of activity involved (general planning). Interest expenditure during the construction phase of a tangible fixed asset is included on the balance sheet as acquisition or production costs.

Intangible assets are non-monetary assets without physical substance. At the MCH Group, only acquired immaterial assets are capitalised, employing the following categories (including the estimated useful life):

Intangible assets developed by the group itself (exhibitions, events, software and other intangible assets) are not included as assets.

Liabilities and loans taken up are stated at their nominal value. A liability or loan taken up is deemed to be short-term if it:

All other liabilities are long-term.

A derivative is included on the balance sheet if it meets the definition of an asset or a liability. The group employs currency futures and swaps for hedging currency risks. Use is made of cash flow hedges in particular for foreign currency hedging in order to reduce foreign currency risks for highly probable future cash flows from sales in foreign currencies. All open positions from cash flow hedges on the balance sheet date are disclosed in the notes and are recognised in equity via the hedging reserve.

The pension obligations of the Group companies for old age, death and disability are based on the local regulations and practices in the countries concerned. The most important companies are located in Switzerland, where employee pensions are managed by a legally independent foundation. Only isolated pension plans are operated abroad. The actual economic impacts of all the group’s pension plans are calculated as per the balance sheet date.

Any benefit arising from the employer contribution provisions is recognised as an asset. The capitalisation of any further economic benefit (resulting from an excess funded status of the pension fund) is neither intended nor are the conditions for this fulfilled. An economic obligation is recognised as a liability if the conditions for the formation of a provision are fulfilled or, where appropriate, is stated as an obligation.

Provisions are established to cover all the identifiable risks of loss and obligations existing at the time the balance sheet is drawn up. Provisions are stated on the balance sheet if a probable obligation exists towards third parties which is attributable to an event that took place in the past (prior to the balance sheet date) and if the level of the obligation can be estimated. The extent of the provision is based on the expected outflow of funds to settle the obligation, which is re-evaluated each year. The level of the provision is determined through an analysis of the event in question which took place in the past, as well as on the basis of events that have occurred subsequent to the balance sheet date, insofar as these contribute to clarifying the situation. Obligating events after the balance sheet date have an impact on provisions if it becomes clear that they are caused by circumstances originating prior to the balance sheet date.

In the case of an acquisition, the net assets acquired are valued at their current value. The excess of the acquisition costs over the revalued net assets corresponds to goodwill. Goodwill is offset directly against equity at the time of acquisition. This is permissible under Swiss GAAP FER insofar as the impact of theoretical capitalisation and theoretical amortisation on the goodwill and the equity is set out separately in the equity statement and in the notes. The goodwill is amortised on a theoretical basis over a period of five years. In the event of any impairment of the goodwill, this will be stated in the notes.

Upon disposal of an investment, the goodwill previously recognised in equity is taken into account at the original cost for purposes of determining the gain or loss to be recognised in profit or loss.

In stating current and deferred income tax consequences, a distinction is made between the establishment of current and deferred income tax. Current income tax is calculated in accordance with the tax regulations for the calculation of profits and is stated as expenditure. Current income tax is included under accrued expenses. Deferred taxes result from valuation differences between the group’s values and the decisive values for tax purposes and are included as deferred items accordingly. The recognition of deferred income tax is based on a balance-sheet approach and fundamentally takes into account all future income-tax consequences. The deferred tax liability is calculated on the basis of the actual future tax rate to be expected and is shown under the long-term provisions. Deferred tax assets from losses carried forward can be recognised if it is considered likely that sufficient tax profits will be achieved in future against which the tax losses carried forward can be offset.

In the context of the “Messe Basel New Buildings” project, various subsidies were granted from the public purse (Cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Zurich and also the City of Zurich); these included investments à fonds perdu. In the 2012 business year, MCH Messe Basel received a non-repayable loan, secured by a mortgage, of CHF 50.0 million from the Canton of Basel-Stadt, as a financing contribution à fonds perdu. This was to run for 20 years and incurred the obligation to continue operating the Congress Center Basel (CCB) for 20 years. Under buildings and fixed installations, an acquisition value for the same amount as the non-repayable loan secured by a mortgage was eliminated and depreciated annually (for the first time in the 2013 financial year) by an amount of CHF 2.5 million (as the equivalent of the annual subsidy of CHF 2.5 million for the non-repayable loan).