Our financial position needs to be sound if we are to achieve our ambitions. Investments must produce sufficient returns to ensure the company’s continued existence. This is also in the public interest. The development in the underlying result from operating activities is a good yardstick for this. It shows the result from operating activities after eliminating exceptional items.

The underlying operating profit fell by €14 million in 2017 to €131 million (from €145 million in 2016). The sale of Qbuzz was the principal reason for the fall in the underlying result.

Cost levels in the Netherlands will remain relatively high in the coming period because NS will be making every possible effort to achieve the KPIs agreed for the main rail network and to make sure that the HSL rolling stock is introduced smoothly.

ROE

The return on equity (ROE) decreased to 0.7% in 2017 (6.2% in 2016). Based on the underlying result, the ROI fell from 3% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2017. In the longer term, NS seeks to achieve a return on invested capital that is in line with the market. The return achieved in 2017 is insufficient, and the financial outlook for the long term is challenging. NS is working on improving controls, speeding up maintenance activities through Pitstop and embedding lean management across the organisation. This should lead both to top-quality processes and to better financial results. The first steps have been taken by increasing the quality and improving the cost efficiency of the support departments.