(19) Cost of materials

Cost of materials increased by a total of EUR 3,015 thousand to EUR 30,373 thousand (previous year: EUR 27,359 thousand).

This item consisted of the cost of goods sold for BVB Event & Catering GmbH (EUR 9,761 thousand; previous year: EUR 9,437 thousand) and BVB Merchandising GmbH (EUR 20,613 thousand; previous year: EUR 17,921 thousand). The rise in the cost of materials for merchandising is due primarily to higher sales volumes and the increase in write-downs.