Net Assets

Total assets rose from €86,556 million as of the end of 2018 to €92,040 million.

Noncurrent assets increased by €2,189 million to €45,524 million. This was primarily due to the capitalization of right-of-use assets arising from leases in the amount of €1.1 billion as a result of the initial application of IFRS 16. The addition of the equity-accounted interest in Solenis following the transfer of BASF’s paper and water chemicals business to Solenis in January 2019 also contributed significantly to the increase.

Current assets rose from €43,221 million as of December 31, 2018, to €46,516 million as of the end of the first quarter of 2019. This was primarily due to higher trade accounts receivable at the start of the season in the Agricultural Solutions segment, especially from the businesses acquired from Bayer. Other receivables and miscellaneous assets, assets of disposal groups and inventories also rose as against December 31, 2018. By contrast, marketable securities declined, while cash and cash equivalents were on a level with the 2018 year-end.