1.1 – General information

BASF SE (registered at the district trade register, or Amtsgericht, for Ludwigshafen am Rhein, number HRB 6000 ) is a publicly listed corporation headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Its official address is Carl-Bosch-Str. 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.

The Consolidated Financial Statements of BASF SE as of December 31, 2016, have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Section 315a (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB). IFRSs are generally only applied after they have been endorsed by the European Union. For the 2016 fiscal year, all of the binding IFRSs and pronouncements of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) were applied.

The Consolidated Financial Statements are presented in euros. All amounts, including the figures for previous years, are given in million euros unless otherwise indicated.

The individual financial statements of the consolidated companies are prepared as of the balance sheet date of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The accounting policies applied are largely the same as those used in 2015, with the exception of any changes arising from the application of new or revised standards.

In its meeting on February 20, 2017, the Board of Executive Directors prepared the Consolidated Financial Statements, submitted them to the Supervisory Board for review and approval, and released them for publication.