(11) Marketing and selling expenses
Accounting and measurement policies
Marketing and selling expenses
Marketing and selling expenses within logistics costs also include expenses for transportation services performed on behalf of customers. The corresponding income from these services is presented under net sales.
Amortization of the intangible assets under marketing and selling expenses is mainly attributable to customer relationships, marketing authorizations, licenses and similar rights, brands, and trademarks, which can be functionally allocated to Marketing and selling.
Marketing and selling expenses comprised the following items:
€ million |
|
2020 |
|
2019 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sales force |
|
-910 |
|
-954 |
||||
Internal sales services |
|
-862 |
|
-845 |
||||
Sales promotion |
|
-413 |
|
-521 |
||||
Logistics |
|
-899 |
|
-794 |
||||
Amortization of intangible assets1 |
|
-636 |
|
-923 |
||||
Royalty and license expenses |
|
-164 |
|
-200 |
||||
Other marketing and selling expenses |
|
-324 |
|
-339 |
||||
Marketing and selling expenses |
|
-4,207 |
|
-4,576 |
||||
|
||||||||
The reduction in expenses for the sales force and sales promotion is largely due to the lockdown in a number of jurisdictions in order to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The increase in logistics expenses was due in particular to modified transportation routes and higher freight rates as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The lower level of amortization of intangible assets was due to the end of the scheduled amortization of assets recognized in connection with the acquisition of Serono SA, Switzerland.
Of the royalty and license expenses, € 51 million (2019: € 68 million) related to license expenses for Glucophage® in China with the distribution partner Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corp., United States, and € 41 million (2019: € 41 million) related to the commercialization of Erbitux® in Japan.