After-mining expenses - The RAG-Foundation's assets climb to 18 billion euros.
In 2023, the RAG Foundation spent €266 million on ongoing tasks that were related to the end of German coal mining. This is a rise of €19 million from the previous year, according to a report released in Essen. The rise in spending is primarily due to higher energy costs.
Since German coal mining ended five years ago, the foundation has spent a total of €1.3 billion on these obligations. In addition to that, the RAG Foundation also financed projects in education, science, and culture. Last year, they allocated €32 million for such projects.
The total assets of the foundation stood at approximately €18 billion at the end of May 2023. This is an increase from €16.8 billion at the end of 2022. The foundation's assets were projected to reach €18 billion by the end of May 2024, with the aim of further reducing its reliance on individual investments in its portfolio. Last May, it sold around 5% of its Evonik core capital, which currently accounts for just a quarter of the foundation's total assets.
However, the foundation was affected by the insolvency of the Austrian real estate and trading group, Signa. The loss resulting from this has been estimated to be €189 million. "It's unfortunate for us, but our foundation's capital investments and risk management have been able to handle such burdens," said CFO Jürgen Rupp in a pre-released speech.
The reserve for covering these ongoing tasks now stands at €9.1 billion.
The foundation was established in 2007 with the primary aim of ensuring the ongoing costs of German coal mining are taken care of. Eternal tasks are those related to coal mining that have no end, such as the continuous removal of mine water.
