19 Borrowings

In agreements governing loans with a residual amount at year-end 2021 of €2,739 million (31 December 2020: €3,237 million), negative pledge clauses have been included that restrict the provision of security.

The documentation of the €500 million bond issued in March 2014, the €500 million bond issued in April 2015, the €750 million bond issued in September 2016, and both €500 million bonds issued in June 2020 include a change-of-control clause. This clause allows the bond investors to request repayment at par if 50% or more of the DSM shares are controlled by a third party and if the company is downgraded below investment grade (< BBB-). DSM’s credit rating has been kept stable throughout 2021 and is set-out as follows: Moody’s: “A3”/stable outlook and S&P: “A-”/stable outlook. At 31 December 2021, there was €1,043 million in borrowings outstanding with a remaining term of more than 5 years (at 31 December 2020, €1,813 million).

In June 2021, DSM exercised its right to redeem early, in full and at the make-whole redemption amount, the €500 million bond issued on 24 September 2015 and with scheduled maturity of 26 September 2022. The make-whole redemption amount was €1,033.91 per €1,000 in principal amount of notes inclusive of accrued and unpaid interest up to, but excluding, the make-whole redemption date falling on 18 June 2021.

On balance, total borrowings decreased by €493 million due to the following changes.

The average effective interest rate on the portfolio of borrowings outstanding in 2021, including hedge instruments related to these borrowings, amounted to 1.86% (2020: 1.78%).

A breakdown of debenture loans is given below.

All debenture loans have a fixed interest rate and are listed on the AEX.

• The 2.375% EUR bond 2014–2024 of €500 million was pre-hedged by means of forward starting swaps, resulting in an effective interest rate for this bond of 3.97%, including the settlement of the pre-hedge
• The 1% EUR bond 2015–2025 of €500 million was pre-hedged by means of forward starting swaps, resulting in an effective interest rate for this bond at 3.65%, including the settlement of the pre-hedge
• The 1.375% EUR bond 2015–2022 of €500 million had an effective interest rate of 1.40% and was early redeemed during 2021, as is mentioned above
• The 0.75% EUR bond 2016–2026 of €750 million was pre-hedged by means of a collar resulting in an effective interest rate for this bond of 1.08%, including the settlement of the pre-hedge
• The 0.25% EUR bond 2020–2028 of €500 million has an effective interest rate of 0.29%
• The 0.625% EUR bond 2020–2032 of €500 million has an effective interest rate of 0.70%

A breakdown of private loans is given below.

A breakdown of the lease liabilities is given below.

In addition to the contractual lease commitments, DSM has identified explicit renewal options available to DSM, which are currently not reasonably certain to be exercised and are therefore not included in the measurement of the lease.

The associated future lease payments which are uncommitted and optional for DSM, are estimated around €79 million (undiscounted; 2020: €78 million).

The interest expense on the lease liabilities was €5 million (2020: €6 million) and the total repayments of the lease liabilities amounted to €54 million in 2021 (2020: €55 million). These cash flows are reported as financing cash flows.

DSM’s policy regarding financial-risk management is described in Note 23 Financial instruments and risks.