26 Other operating expenses
millions of € |
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
2021 |
2020 |
2019 |
Impairment losses on financial assets |
638 |
862 |
452 |
Gains (losses) from the write-off of financial assets measured at amortized cost |
123 |
188 |
42 |
Other |
3,510 |
3,425 |
2,807 |
Of which: legal and audit fees |
616 |
510 |
328 |
Of which: losses from asset disposals |
277 |
497 |
213 |
Of which: income (losses) from the measurement of factoring receivables |
4 |
6 |
129 |
Of which: other taxes |
496 |
452 |
427 |
Of which: cash and guarantee transaction costs |
547 |
491 |
355 |
Of which: insurance expenses |
138 |
117 |
98 |
Of which: miscellaneous other operating expenses |
1,431 |
1,354 |
1,258 |
Of which: losses resulting from deconsolidations and from the sale of stakes accounted for using the equity method |
70 |
0 |
10 |
|
4,271 |
4,476 |
3,301 |
Miscellaneous other operating expenses comprise a large number of low-value individual items, including other administrative expenses and fees totaling EUR 146 million (2020: EUR 162 million, 2019: EUR 176 million).
The year-on-year decrease in impairment losses on financial assets was mainly attributable to impairment losses on customer receivables due to lowered credit ratings recognized in the first half of 2020 as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States operating segment; by contrast, no such impairment losses had to be recognized in 2021. The losses from asset disposals incurred in 2021 resulted in part from the derecognition of damaged non-current assets such as telephone lines, central offices, and cell sites in the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding in Germany in July 2021. In the prior-year period, losses from asset disposals of EUR 0.2 billion had resulted from the derecognition of billing software for postpaid customers in the United States, which had still been in development. Prior to the migration of Sprint contract customers to the T‑Mobile US billing software, it had been decided that this software was not suitable for the joint customer base and would not be put into operation. The losses resulting from deconsolidations and from the sale of stakes accounted for using the equity method were attributable, among others, to the sale of the 54 % stake in Telekom Romania Communications (TKR) as of September 30, 2021 (EUR 29 million), the derecognition of the associated currency reserve in the Group (EUR 20 million), and the sale of a business operation in the Systems Solutions operating segment. Miscellaneous other operating expenses include a large number of individual items accounting for marginal amounts.