The robustness of NS’s financial position is clear from the structure and the composition of its capital, the available cash and cash equivalents and the fact that it has committed credit facilities, and off-balance-sheet items, mainly operating lease commitments. Standard & Poor’s (S&P, a leading credit rating agency that investigates the financial position of companies) has given NS Groep NV a credit rating of AA- with a stable outlook (based on an underlying credit profile of single A-, currently raised by three levels in recognition of the relationship with the shareholder, the Dutch State). In part because of the main rail network franchise for 2015-2024, NS is currently investing heavily in trains, stations and systems and will continue to do so over the next few years. Based on the NS group plan and the initiatives it contains for improving results, NS expects that the available cash flows, the financing capacity and the availability of a residual value scheme for the rolling stock for the main rail network will be sufficient to let it carry out its investment programme of approximately €4 billion in the period through to 2022. The realisation of these improvement initiatives will require a substantial effort from everyone at NS over the next few years. Furthermore, commitments worth around €3.8 billion have been entered into for leases for the franchises in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Key financial figures

• * Working capital: current assets (excluding cash and cash equivalents) minus current liabilities (excluding loans and provisions)