The most significant individual risks in the businesses have been named in the report above, with business- and market-related risks being the most significant alongside IT and legal risks. Most notably, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic increases existing risks related to more restrictive regulatory requirements regarding drug pricing and reimbursement, the demand for our products, business interruptions at our production facilities, lack of availability of good quality materials or services, risks related to research and development, and negative macroeconomic developments.
Following the concentrated risk mitigation measures taken – such as the implementation of management action (organizational responsibility and process improvements), existing insurance coverage, and accounting precautions – we were able to take counteraction, in particular against significant individual risks.
The overall risk of the Group, which is derived from the probability-weighted aggregation of the identified risks, leads to the assessment that an existence-threatening risk-scenario, for which coverage and financing of the losses are questionable, is highly improbable. We are convinced that we will also successfully manage the challenges described in the future, also benefiting from diversification through our different products and markets.
In our view, business-related opportunities offer the greatest potential. The activities listed hold significant opportunities for us in the medium to long term, beyond the underlying forecast period. We pursue the opportunities that arise and specify their expected effects in the forecast development of net sales, EBITDA pre, and operating cash flow. Furthermore, we will actively seek new opportunities, examine their implementation, and drive them forward where appropriate. If opportunities arise in addition to the forecast developments, or these occur more quickly than anticipated, this could have positive effects on our net assets, financial position, and results of operations.