To estimate the trend for Moody’s adjusted leverage, we need to compare the leverage ratio at the end of 2022 with the leverage ratio at the end of 2021. Moody’s adjusted leverage is typically calculated as Adjusted Debt / Adjusted EBITDA (or Gross Debt / EBITDA as a standard proxy). 1. **Calculate Leverage for 2021:** - Gross Debt for 2021 = Noncurrent Financial Liabilities + Current Financial Liabilities = 56,543M + 45,014M = 101,557M EUR - EBITDA for 2021 = Operating Profit Before Depreciation and Amortisation = 18,005M EUR - 2021 Leverage Ratio = 101,557 / 18,005 ≈ **5.64x** 2. **Calculate Leverage for 2022:** - Gross Debt for 2022 = Noncurrent Financial Liabilities + Current Financial Liabilities = 71,058M + 71,844M = 142,902M EUR - EBITDA for 2022 = Operating Profit Before Depreciation and Amortisation = -4,986M EUR (which is negative) - 2022 Leverage Ratio = 142,902 / -4,986 (Negative EBITDA results in a theoretically meaningless or infinite leverage ratio, indicating extreme leverage). **Reasoning:** Comparing the two periods, the company's gross debt increased significantly from approximately 101.6 billion EUR to 142.9 billion EUR. Simultaneously, the EBITDA dropped drastically from a positive 18.0 billion EUR to a negative 4.9 billion EUR. Because the debt increased while the denominator (EBITDA) turned negative, the financial leverage has unequivocally worsened. Therefore, the adjusted leverage trend is Deteriorating. Deteriorating