14. Assets and liabilities in disposal groups held for sale, as well as discontinued operations

Assets and liabilities held for sale

Non-current assets and liabilities are classified as held for sale if it is highly probable that they will be realised through sale rather than continued use.

These assets or disposal groups are recognised at the lower of their carrying amounts or fair values less costs to sell. Any impairment loss of a disposal group is firstly allocated to goodwill and then to the remaining assets and liabilities on a proportional basis. No loss is allocated to financial assets, deferred tax assets, assets in connection with employee benefits or investment property that continues to be measured based on the Group’s other accounting policies. Impairment losses on the first-time classification as held for sale and any subsequent impairment losses are recognised in profit or loss.

Intangible assets held for sale and property, plant and equipment are no longer amortised or depreciated. Investments recognised using the equity method are no longer equity-accounted.

Following the closing of the sale of Medial Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft m.b.H on 15 January 2018, the items previously reported under assets in disposal groups held for sale were derecognised.

Since the third quarter of 2018, sales talks have been held on the sale of 19 commercial properties. This is a portfolio of specialist stores and shopping centres in Austria. They have therefore been reported under assets in disposal groups held for sale (health and life business lines). In the course of the financial year, 18 real estate properties were sold. As at 31 December 2019, one property with a carrying amount of €13,778 thousand was returned to the item “Investment property”, following a change in estimates of its saleability.