7 – Other operating income

Income from the adjustment and reversal of provisions recognized in other operating expenses in 2014 included income of €79 million from the reversal of the provision for the long-term incentive (LTI) program; this was due to the decline in the BASF share price in 2014. In 2015, however, an expense of €53 million arose from the LTI program, and was recognized in other operating expenses.

Furthermore, the reversal of provisions in both years was largely related to closures and restructuring measures, employee obligations, risks from lawsuits and damage claims, and various other items as part of the normal course of business. Provisions were reversed if the circumstances on the balance sheet date were such that utilization was no longer expected, or expected to a lesser extent.

Revenue from miscellaneous revenue-generating activities primarily included income from rentals, property sales, catering operations, cultural events and logistics services.

Income from foreign currency and hedging transactions pertained to the foreign currency translation of receivables and payables as well as changes in the fair value of currency derivatives and other hedging transactions. The decline in comparison with the previous year was attributable to lower income as a result of the depreciation of the Russian ruble.

Income from the translation of financial statements in foreign currencies contained gains from the translation of companies whose local currency is different from the functional currency.

Gains on the disposal of fixed assets and divestitures in the amount of €314 million resulted from the asset swap with Gazprom. Income of €71 million was related to the sale of the global textile chemicals business to Archroma Textiles S.à r.l., Luxembourg. Additional income of €39 million was attributable to the sale of the white expandable polystyrene (EPS) business to Alpek S.A.B. de C.V., Monterrey, Mexico. Furthermore, income in the amount of €37 million arose from the sale of buildings in China and India as well as income in the amount of €29 million from the sale of the custom synthesis business and parts of the active pharmaceutical ingredients portfolio to Siegfried Holding AG, Zofingen, Switzerland. The previous year mainly included gains from the sale of the 50% share in Styrolution Holding GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in the amount of €458 million to INEOS. Further income of €132 million was related to the sale of selected oil and gas investments in the North Sea to the Hungarian MOL Group. Additional income in the amount of €109 million resulted from the sale to Shell of the share in the Ellba Eastern Private Ltd. joint operation in Singapore, as well as €31 million from the sale of the PolyAd Services business to Edgewater Capital Partners, L.P., Cleveland, Ohio.

Income from the reversal of valuation allowances for business-related receivables resulted mainly from the settlement of customer-related receivables for which a valuation allowance had been recorded.

Other income included government grants and government assistance from several countries amounting to €135 million in 2015 and €112 million in 2014. In both years, these were primarily attributable to price compensation from the Argentinian government for gas producers, which was introduced in connection with the New Gas Price Scheme (NGPS) in response to the lower, partly locally regulated gas prices.

Further income resulted from refunds in the amount of €254 million in 2015 and €122 million in 2014. These were predominantly due in both years to insurance refunds arising from a plant outage at the Ellba C.V. joint operation in Moerdijk, Netherlands. In 2015, income also arose from a one-off payment for a price revision relating to the previous year in the Oil & Gas segment as well as a one-off payment from Tellus Petroleum AS, Oslo, Norway, in connection with the intended sale of selected assets on the Norwegian continental shelf, which was not completed. The previous year had included income from reimbursement claims in the amount of €43 million.

Moreover, income in both years was related to gains from precious metal trading, the reversal of impairments on property, plant and equipment, tax refunds, income from the adjustment of pension plans, and a number of other items.