Other operating expenses

Other operating expenses fell by CHF 44.6 million to CHF 207.3 million. CHF 4.1 million of this decline is attributable to a change to the group of consolidated companies.

While distribution and sales expenses largely mirrored the decline in revenues, the reduction in expenditure for advertising and public relations was disproportionately large. Rent, lease payments and licences include, on the one hand, exceptions from IFRS 16 relating to short-term leases with a term of less than a year, low-value underlying assets (see Note 32) and also rent, lease payments and licences not covered under the IFRS 16 standard. General operating expenses include, among other things, expenditure for purchases and repairs, expenditure on consultancy, general administrative expenditure, expenses incurred by people travelling on behalf of and representing the Group and other operating expenditure. Around CHF 6.3 million of the decline in general operating expenses is attributable to the reduction in consultancy expenditure, which had been extraordinarily high the previous year. The impairments on financial assets recorded in 2020 amount to CHF 2.5 million (previous year: CHF 1.8 million) and include among other things specific valuation allowances for receivables due from Publicitas in the amount of CHF 1.9 million.