Question · Q2 2021
Margiotta Lorenzo asked whether recent personnel and other expense savings were transitory or would impact long-term targets, and sought confirmation on the 2023 equity-free cash flow recovery timeline and its relation to sustainable cost savings.
Answer
CFO Yves Gerster clarified that current expense savings are temporarily inflated by low turnover, while the sustainable savings target remains. He confirmed that equity-free cash flow is expected to recover to 2019 levels between 2022-2023, noting that the CHF 400 million in permanent savings would translate to a smaller amount at the cash flow level after taxes and other factors.