2.8Leases
There are currently leases in place for real estate, operating and office equipment (vehicles and IT) and for out-of-home advertising inventory. The leases for real estate and out-of-home advertising inventory have a residual term of between one and ten years. The residual terms of the operating and office equipment leases are between one and five years. Various rental agreements feature options to extend the rental period.
Capitalised right-of-use assets, lease liabilities entered on the liabilities side, the effect in terms of depreciation and amortisation in the income statement and on the financial result as well as the impact on the statement of cash flows are set out in the individual notes. In summary, this has the following effects on the consolidated financial statements:
in CHF mn | 2025 | 2024 |
Balance sheet | ||
Right-of-use assets – real estate | 95.8 | 78.2 |
Accumulated depreciation right-of-use assets – real estate | -52.3 | -46.6 |
Right-of-use assets – operating and office equipment | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Accumulated depreciation right-of-use assets – operating and office equipment | -0.5 | -0.4 |
Right-of-use assets – out-of-home advertising inventory | 313.3 | 297.3 |
Accumulated depreciation right-of-use assets – out-of-home advertising inventory | -154.6 | -109.3 |
Assets | 202.3 | 219.7 |
Lease liabilities | 208.5 | 225.7 |
Liabilities | 208.5 | 225.7 |
in CHF mn | 2025 | 2024 |
Income statement | ||
Depreciation right-of-use assets – real estate | -10.4 | -9.5 |
Depreciation right-of-use assets – operating and office equipment | -0.1 | -0.2 |
Depreciation right-of-use assets – out-of-home advertising inventory | -51.9 | -50.6 |
Depreciation right-of-use assets | -62.4 | -60.3 |
Interest expense from leases | -5.6 | -5.6 |
Financial result from leases | -5.6 | -5.6 |
Short-term leases with terms of less than one year and leases with underlying assets of low value do not have to be recognised and were recorded in the reporting year as lease expenses under other operating expense in the amount of CHF 0.2 million (short-term leases) and CHF 3.5 million (low-value leased assets) (previous year: CHF 1.8 million and CHF 1.2 million respectively).
In the current year, the inventory of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities reduced by CHF 17.4 million and CHF 17.3 million respectively. Additions totalling CHF 45.4 million were more than offset by depreciation and repayments.
The revenue from subleasing of capitalised right-of-use assets is not material, and there are no sale and leaseback transactions.
As of 31 December 2025, liabilities from signed leases yet to commence totalled CHF 2.5 million (previous year: CHF 11.2 million). These liabilities are recognised as a liability at the fair value at the time the lease begins.
When determining the terms (periods) of leases, all facts and circumstances that represent an economic incentive to exercise extension options or not exercise termination options are considered. Extension and termination options are only factored into the term of the lease if it is sufficiently certain that these will be exercised. The assessment is revised if a significant event or a significant change in circumstances occurs that could influence the estimate previously used, provided they are within the control of the lessee. If the implicit interest rate for a lease cannot be determined, the incremental borrowing rate (IBR) can also be used to discount the lease liabilities. The calculation of the incremental borrowing rate requires discretion, and analysis should reflect the economic environment (country, currency, time). These estimates are inherently uncertain and may not prove to be accurate.
In general, all leases with their associated rights and obligations are recorded in the balance sheet. Right-of-use assets are capitalised in the balance sheet under property, plant and equipment, while lease obligations are shown as current and non-current financial liabilities. Short-term leases with a term of less than one year and leases where the underlying asset is of low value (replacement value below CHF 5ʼ000) do not have to be recognised. The payments for short-term leases and for low-value underlying assets are recorded as lease expenses under other operating expenses. Any assessment of the term of leases with extension options involves estimates and assumptions. These estimates are inherently uncertain and may not prove to be accurate.
The initial capitalisation of right-of-use assets and lease liabilities associated with a lease is performed on the basis of the fair value of the future lease payments (discounted). An incremental borrowing rate of interest is used to calculate the fair value of lease liabilities. In order to determine this value, due account is taken of the risk-free interest rate for specific lease terms, the collateral, the credit spread and the country-specific risk premium, with a uniform rate being applied to a portfolio of similar leases. Lease liabilities include firmly agreed lease payments. The first capitalisation of right-of-use assets is based on the fair value of lease liabilities and includes any initial direct costs. Depreciation of right-of-use assets is linear and applies over the term of the lease. The lease payments reduce the lease liability on the liabilities side, and the interest added in relation to the lease liability is applied over the term of the lease and recognised in the income statement as financial expense.