Statement of Cash Flows

Statement of cash flows (million €)

 

 

2nd Quarter

1st Half

 

 

2015

2014

2015

2014

Net income

 

1,265

1,259

2,439

2,723

Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and financial assets

 

957

772

1,859

1,502

Changes in net working capital

 

568

(974)

877

(1,251)

Miscellaneous items

 

(37)

(91)

(32)

(261)

Cash provided by operating activities

 

2,753

966

5,143

2,713

 

 

 

 

 

 

Payments related to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets

 

(1,567)

(1,225)

(2,845)

(2,201)

Acquisitions/divestitures

 

(41)

92

(15)

355

Financial investments and other items

 

(221)

(433)

(471)

(530)

Cash used in investing activities

 

(1,829)

(1,566)

(3,331)

(2,376)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital increases/repayments, share repurchases

 

47

47

Changes in financial liabilities

 

2,022

2,368

1,723

2,781

Dividends

 

(2,702)

(2,568)

(2,803)

(2,592)

Cash used in / provided by financing activities

 

(633)

(200)

(1,033)

189

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net changes in cash and cash equivalents

 

291

(800)

779

526

Cash and cash equivalents as of beginning of year and other changes

 

2,287

3,166

1,799

1,840

Cash and cash equivalents at end of quarter

 

2,578

2,366

2,578

2,366

2nd Quarter 2015

In the second quarter of 2015, cash provided by operating activities increased by €1,787 million compared with the previous second quarter. The release of funds in net working capital was particularly influenced by lower trade accounts receivable as well as by reduced inventory. Factors such as a decrease in trade accounts payable and the utilization of provisions for employee bonuses had a counterbalancing effect.

Cash used in investing activities amounted to €1,829 million, compared with €1,566 million in the previous second quarter. At €1,567 million, payments related to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets were higher quarter-on-quarter.

Financing activities led to a cash outflow of €633 million, compared with an outflow of €200 million in the second quarter of 2014. Cash outflows resulted primarily from the scheduled repayment of several bonds as well as from dividend payments. This was partly counteracted by the expansion of BASF SE’s U.S. dollar commercial paper program.

1st Half 2015

Cash provided by operating activities rose by €2,430 million in the first half of 2015 compared with the same period of the previous year. The release of funds in net working capital was predominantly the result of a decline in inventories of €1.3 billion. Contributing to this were seasonal effects in the natural gas trading and crop protection businesses as well as the continuing optimization of inventory management. An increase in trade accounts receivable partly counterbalanced this development.

Investing activities led to a cash outflow of €3,331 million, compared with €2,376 million in the first half of 2014. At €2,845 million, payments related to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets were higher than in the same period of the previous year. Overall, acquisitions and divestitures did not result in significant cash flows in the first half of 2015. The same period of the previous year had included payments received from divestitures: These comprised the sale of shares in non-BASF-operated oil and gas fields in the British North Sea to the MOL Group, as well as the sale of the PolyAd services business to Cleveland, Ohio-based Edgewater Capital Partners, L.P.

Financing activities resulted in a cash outflow of €1,033 million, compared with an inflow of €189 million in the first half of the previous year. The cash inflow resulting from the change in financial liabilities amounted to €1,723 million. This was largely due to the expansion of BASF SE’s U.S. dollar commercial paper program; partly countering this development was the scheduled repayment of several bonds. Dividends of €2,572 million were paid to shareholders of BASF SE, which was €92 million more than in the previous year. Payments of €231 million were made to minority shareholders of Group companies in the form of dividends.