Table:
|  | € million | € million |
| --- | --- | --- |
|  | 2019 | 2018 |
|  |  | (Restated)(a) |
| Operating profit | 8,708 | 12,639 |
| Depreciation, amortisation and impairment | 1,982 | 2,216 |
| Changes in working capital | (9) | (793) |
| Pensions and similar obligations less Payments | (260) | (128) |
| Provision less payments | 7 | 55 |
| Elimination of (profits)/losses on disposals | 60 | (4,313) |
| Non-cash charge for share-based compensation | 151 | 196 |
| Other adjustments | 2 | (260) |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 10,641 | 9,612 |
| Income tax paid | (2,532) | (2,294) |
| Net capital expenditure | (1,429) | (1,424) |
| Net interest and preference dividends paid | (548) | (461) |
| Free cash flow* | 6,132 | 5,433 |
| Net cash flow (used in)/from investing activities | (2,237) | 4,644 |
| Net cash flow (used in)/from financing activities | (4,667) | (12,113) |
Paragraphs:
Cash Flow
Cash flow from operating activities was up by €1.0 billion mainly driven by working capital improvement in 2019 compared to the prior year which was impacted by the disposal of spreads. Gross margin improvement had a favourable contribution a result of strong delivery from 5-S savings programmes. Overheads and brand and marketing efficiencies also had a favourable contribution as a result of our zero-based-budgeting programme.
(a) Restated following adoption of IFRS 16. See note 1 and note 24 for further details.
* Certain measures used in our reporting are not defined under IFRS. For further
information about these measures, please refer to the commentary on non-GAAP
measures on pages 27 to 32.
Net cash outflow as a result of investing activities was €2.2 billion compared to an inflow of €4.6 billion in the prior year which included €7.1 billion from the disposal of spreads business.
Net outflow from financing activities was €4.7 billion compared to €12.1
billion in the prior year. 2018 included €6.0 billion relating to repurchase of
shares. In 2019 borrowings net of repayments was €1.4 billion higher than
the prior year.
Question:
What caused the increase in the cash flow from operating activities in 2019?
Answer: mainly driven by working capital improvement in 2019 compared to the prior year which was impacted by the disposal of spreads