23. Property, Plant and Equipment

The additions are largely the result of the expansion of container terminals in Hamburg and the acquisition of locomotives by METRANS a.s.

Disposals in the financial year under review mainly relate to the return of an Übersee-Zentrum office building to the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and to the sale/scrapping of technical equipment and machinery.

Changes to the consolidated group in the 2016 financial year relate solely to the METRANS Group subsidiaries which were included in the Consolidated Financial Statements for the first time.

The negative effects of changes in exchange rates arose chiefly in connection with the depreciation of the Ukrainian currency.

No write-downs were made on property, plant and equipment in the year under review. In the previous year, write-downs in the amount of € 1,125 thousand were made for a building at a container terminal in Hamburg which was no longer used.

Buildings, surfacing and movable non-current assets with a carrying amount of € 1,997 thousand (previous year: € 3,112 thousand) have been pledged as collateral in connection with loans taken up by the Group.

Regarding existing restrictions on the disposal and use of buildings in connection with the letting of the associated properties from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, see the explanatory remarks on the lease agreements in Note 45.

As of the balance sheet date, the Group had obligations of € 77,299 thousand (previous year: € 34,199 thousand) from purchase commitments attributable to investments in property, plant and equipment.