To BREMER LAGERHAUS-GESELLSCHAFT -Aktiengesellschaft von 1877-, Bremen
Report on the audit of the annual financial statements and the management report
Audit opinions
We have audited the annual financial statements of BREMER LAGERHAUS-GESELLSCHAFT -Aktiengesellschaft von 1877-, Bremen, which comprise the balance sheet as at December 31, 2023, the income statement for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, and the notes to the annual financial statements, including the recognition and measurement policies presented therein. In addition, we have audited the management report of BREMER LAGERHAUS-GESELLSCHAFT -Aktiengesellschaft von 1877-, which is combined with the group management report for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. In accordance with the German legal requirements, we have not audited the content of the sections “Dovetailing of the compliance and risk management system and internal control system,” “Integrated governance, risk and compliance approach” and “Effectiveness of the internal control system and risk management system, including compliance” of the management report.
In our opinion, on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the audit,
- the accompanying annual financial statements comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of German commercial law and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the company as at December 31, 2023, and of its financial performance for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, in compliance with German Legally Required Accounting Principles, and
- the accompanying management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the company’s position. In all material respects, this management report is consistent with the annual financial statements, complies with German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. Our audit opinion on the management report does not cover the content of the sections of the management report referred to above.
Pursuant to Section 322 (3) sentence 1 HGB, we declare that our audit has not led to any reservations relating to the legal compliance of the annual financial statements and of the management report.
Basis for the audit opinions
We conducted our audit of the annual financial statements and of the management report in accordance with Section 317 HGB, and in compliance with the EU Audit Regulation (No. 537/2014; hereinafter “EU-AR”) and with the German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Institute of Public Auditors – IDW). Our responsibilities under those requirements and principles are further described in the “Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the annual financial statements and the management report” section of our auditor’s report. We are independent of the company in accordance with the requirements of European law, German commercial and professional law, and we have fulfilled our other German professional responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. In addition, we declare pursuant to Article 10 (2) lit. f) EU-AR that we have provided no prohibited non-audit services referred to in Article 5 (1) EU-AR. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions on the annual financial statements and on the management report.
Key audit matters in the audit of the annual financial statements
Key audit matters are such matters that, in our professional judgment, were the most significant in our audit of the annual financial statements for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the annual financial statements as a whole and in forming our audit opinion thereon; we do not provide a separate audit opinion on these matters.
In our view, the following matter was the most significant in our audit:
❶ Measurement of receivables from affiliated companies
We have structured our presentation of this key audit matter as follows:
① Matter and problem
② Audit approach and findings
③ Reference to further information
We present the key audit matter below:
❶ Measurement of receivables from affiliated companies
① In the company’s annual financial statements, receivables of EUR 28.0 million (95.2% of total assets) are reported under “Receivables from affiliated companies” in the balance sheet. These relate primarily to receivables from cash pooling agreements, short-term loans and trade receivables from BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG, Bremen. Receivables are measured under commercial law at the lower of cost or market value. The market value of the receivables from BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG are generally based on the latter’s expected ability to pay. BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG’s ability to pay depends primarily on expected future cash flows from its long-term investees. On the basis of the expected future cash flows provided by the projections compiled by the legal representatives of BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG and other documentation, there was no need for write-downs in the reporting year.
The result of this measurement is highly dependent on how the legal representatives estimate BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG’s ability to pay on the basis of the expected business performance of its long-term investees. The measurement therefore involves material uncertainties. In this context and on account of the size and the associated risk of a significant effect on the company’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows in the event of impairment, the measurement of the receivables from BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG was particularly significant for our audit.
② To assess the recoverability of the receivables from affiliated companies, we examined the principles of company law and the contractual provisions. In addition, we assessed the ability to pay and the earnings situation of the long-term investees of BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG by way of case-by-case audit procedures. Among other things, we verified the impairment test carried out by the company and assessed it on the basis of corporate planning by the long-term investees and other documents. Overall, we were satisfied that the estimates and assumptions made by the legal representatives for the measurement of the receivables from BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG are sufficiently documented and substantiated.
③ The company’s disclosures on receivables from affiliated companies are included in the “Disclosures on recognition and measurement” and “Balance sheet disclosures” sections of the notes to the financial statements.
Other information
The legal representatives are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the sections “Dovetailing of the compliance and risk management system and internal control system,” “Integrated governance, risk and compliance approach” and “Effectiveness of the internal control system and risk management system, including compliance” of the management report, the content of which was not audited.
The other information also comprises
- the statement on corporate governance pursuant to Section 289f and Section 315d HGB
- all other parts of the financial report – not including further cross-references to external information – with the exception of the audited annual financial statements, the audited management report and our auditor’s report.
Our audit opinions on the annual financial statements and the management report do not cover the other information, and consequently we do not express an audit opinion or any other form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in so doing, to consider whether the other information
- is materially inconsistent with the annual financial statements, with the content of the audited management report or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or
- otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
Responsibility of the legal representatives and the Supervisory Board for the annual financial statements and the management report
The legal representatives are responsible for the preparation of the annual financial statements that comply, in all material respects, with the requirements of German commercial law, and that the annual financial statements give a true and fair view of the net assets, liabilities, financial position and financial performance of the company in compliance with the German Legally Required Accounting Principles. In addition, the legal representatives are responsible for such internal controls as they, in accordance with German Legally Required Accounting Principles, have determined necessary to enable the preparation of annual financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud (i.e. manipulation of financial accounting and asset misappropriation) or error.
In preparing the annual financial statements, the legal representatives are responsible for assessing the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. They also have the responsibility for disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern. In addition, they are responsible for financial accounting based on the going concern basis of accounting, provided no actual or legal circumstances conflict therewith.
Furthermore, the legal representatives are responsible for the preparation of the management report that as a whole provides an appropriate view of the company’s position and is, in all material respects, consistent with the annual financial statements, complies with German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. In addition, the legal representatives are responsible for such arrangements and measures (systems) as they have considered necessary to enable the preparation of a management report that is in accordance with the applicable German legal requirements, and to be able to provide sufficient appropriate evidence for the assertions in the management report.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial reporting process for the preparation of the annual financial statements and of the management report.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the annual financial statements and of the management report
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the annual financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and whether the management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the company’s position and, in all material respects, is consistent with the annual financial statements and the knowledge obtained in the audit, complies with German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development, as well as to issue an auditor’s report that includes our audit opinions on the annual financial statements and on the management report.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but not a guarantee that an audit conducted in compliance with Section 317 HGB, and in compliance with the EU-AR and the German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) will always detect a material misstatement. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these annual financial statements and this management report.
We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
- Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the annual financial statements and of the management report, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinions. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
- Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit of the annual financial statements and of arrangements and measures relevant to the audit of the management report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an audit opinion on the effectiveness of these systems of the company.
- Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used by the legal representatives and the reasonableness of estimates made by the legal representatives and related disclosures.
- Conclude on the appropriateness of the legal representatives’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in the auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the annual financial statements and in the management report or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our respective audit opinions. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the company to cease to be able to continue as a going concern.
- Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the annual financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the annual financial statements present the underlying transactions and events in a manner that the annual financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and financial performance of the company in compliance with German Legally Required Accounting Principles.
- Evaluate the consistency of the management report with the annual financial statements, its conformity with German law, and the view of the company’s position it provides.
- Perform audit procedures on the prospective information presented by the legal representatives in the management report. On the basis of sufficient appropriate audit evidence, we evaluate, in particular, the significant assumptions used by the legal representatives as a basis for the prospective information, and evaluate the proper derivation of the prospective information from these assumptions. We do not express a separate audit opinion on the prospective information and on the assumptions used as a basis. There is a substantial unavoidable risk that future events will differ materially from the prospective information.
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We make a declaration to those charged with governance that we have complied with the relevant independence requirements and discuss with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence and the safeguards that have been put in place to address them.
From among the matters we discussed with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the annual financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in the auditor’s report, unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure of the matter.
Other statutory and other legal requirements
Report on the audit of the electronic reproductions of the annual financial statements and of the management report prepared for the purpose of disclosure pursuant to Section 317(3a) HGB
Audit opinion
We performed a reasonable assurance audit pursuant to Section 317 (3a) HGB to determine whether the reproductions of the annual financial statements and the management report (hereinafter also referred to as “ESEF documents”) contained in the attached file 2023BLGAGHGBESEF.zip and prepared for disclosure purposes comply in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB on the electronic reporting format (“ESEF format”). In accordance with German legal requirements, this audit covers only the conversion of the information contained in the annual financial statements and in the management report into the ESEF format and therefore neither covers the information contained in these reproductions nor any other information contained in the above-mentioned file.
In our opinion, the reproductions of the annual financial statements and of the management report contained in the aforementioned attached file and prepared for the purposes of disclosure comply in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB regarding the electronic reporting format. Other than this opinion and our opinions on the accompanying financial statements and on the accompanying management report for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023 included in the “Report on the audit of the annual financial statements and the management report” above, we do not express any opinion on the information contained in these reproductions or on any other information contained in the aforementioned file.
Basis for the audit opinion
We conducted our audit of the reproductions of the annual financial statements and the management report contained in the above-mentioned attached file in accordance with Section 317 (3a) HGB and in compliance with the IDW Auditing Standard: “Audit of Electronic Reproductions of Financial Statements and Management Reports Prepared for the Purposes of Disclosure pursuant to Section 317 (3a) HGB” (“Prüfung der für Zwecke der Offenlegung erstellten elektronischen Wiedergaben von Abschlüssen und Lageberichten nach § 317 Abs. 3a HGB (IDW PS 410 (06.2022)”) and with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised). Our responsibility under this standard is further described in the section “Auditor’s responsibility for the audit of the ESEF documents”. Our auditing firm has applied the quality assurance system requirements of the IDW Quality Management Standard: “Requirements for Quality Management in Auditing Practice” (“Anforderungen an das Qualitätsmanagement in der Wirtschaftsprüferpraxis (IDW QMS 1 (09.2022)).
Responsibility of the legal representatives and the Supervisory Board for the ESEF documents
The legal representatives of the company are responsible for the preparation of the ESEF documents containing the electronic reproductions of the annual financial statements and of the management report in accordance with Section 328 (1) sentence 4 no. 1 HGB.
The legal representatives of the company are also responsible for such internal control as they have determined necessary to enable the preparation of the ESEF documents that are free from material – intentional or unintentional – non-compliance with the electronic reporting format requirements pursuant to Section 328 (1) HGB.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the process for the preparation of the ESEF documents as part of the financial reporting process.
Auditor’s responsibility for the audit of ESEF documents
Our objective is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the ESEF documents are free from material – intentional or unintentional – non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB. We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
- Identify and assess the risks of material – intentional or unintentional – non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
- Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit of the ESEF documents in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of these controls.
- Evaluate the technical validity of the ESEF documents, i.e. whether the file containing the ESEF documents meets the requirements of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815, as amended at the balance sheet date, regarding the technical specification for that file.
- Evaluate whether the ESEF documents enable an XHTML reproduction that is consistent with the content of the audited annual financial statements and the audited management report.
Further information pursuant to Article 10 EU-AR
We were elected as the auditor of the annual financial statements by the Annual General Meeting on June 7, 2023. We were engaged by the Supervisory Board on December 21, 2023. We have been the auditor of the annual financial statements of BREMER LAGERHAUS-GESELLSCHAFT -Aktiengesellschaft von 1877-, Bremen, without interruption since the 2018 financial year.
We declare that the audit opinions contained in this auditor’s report are consistent with the additional report to the Audit Committee according to Article 11 EU-AR (audit report).
Other matter – use of the audit report
Our auditor’s report must always be read in conjunction with the audited annual financial statements and the audited management report as well as with the audited ESEF documents. The annual financial statements and the management report converted into the ESEF format – including the versions to be published in the Federal Gazette – are merely electronic reproductions of the audited annual financial statements and the audited management report and do not replace these. In particular, our report on the audit of the electronic reproductions of the annual financial statements and of the management report prepared for the purpose of disclosure pursuant to Section 317 (3a) HGB and our audit opinion contained therein may be used only in conjunction with the audited ESEF documentation provided in electronic form.
German public auditor responsible for the engagement
The German public auditor responsible for the engagement is Hubert Ahlers.
Bremen, March 28, 2024
PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Hubert Ahlers
ppa. Konstantin Kessler