Segment Profile Indications and sectors Fungicides Protecting crops against harmful fungal diseases Herbicides Reducing competition from weeds for water and nutrients Insecticides Combating insect pests in agriculture and beyond Functional Crop Care Biological crop protection, seed treatment, polymers and colorants Seeds & Traits Optimization and development of seeds and new traits Sales Factors influencing sales Income from operations before special items Million € How we create value – an example InVigor® Patented pod shatter reduction technology for canola/oilseed rape seed pods enabling innovative yield protection and greater harvesting flexibility for growers Value for BASF Market share of InVigor® seed portfolio in main markets of North America > 55% Value for customers Yield improvement for growers of > 5% InVigor® hybrids with pod shatter reduction (PSR) technology are an innovative solution for minimizing lost yield due to seed pods splitting open and seeds prematurely falling out. The first canola hybrids with patented PSR technology from the newly acquired seed business were launched on the Canadian market in 2014. By 2019, more than half of BASF’s InVigor® product line-up in the United States, Canada and Australia will contain the PSR feature. The market share of the InVigor® seed portfolio in its main markets of North America is greater than 55% and popularity in Australia is increasing rapidly. The patented PSR technology in InVigor® hybrid canola continues to revolutionize the way canola growers approach their season. The PSR feature naturally strengthens the pod seam and connective tissue, reducing premature seed losses prior to harvest. It offers the flexibility to harvest canola by straight cutting, therefore allowing the pod to fill for a longer period of time and providing a yield increase of over 5%. Strategy Integrated provider of crop protection and biotechnology products, seeds for selected field crops and vegetables, and digital farming Long-term innovation strategy ensures future growth Development of solutions that go beyond conventional crop protection Natural resources such as land and arable area are limited, while the world’s population and its demand for food continue to grow. This means that farmers around the world face the challenge of increasing their crop yields. We offer our customers innovative solutions combined with practical, down-to-earth advice to support them in the efficient and safe production of high-quality crops over the long term. In August 2018, we closed the acquisition of a range of businesses and assets from Bayer to be able to provide farmers with an even wider range of solutions in the future, and to better meet the growing demand for high-quality seeds as well as chemical and biological crop protection. The acquisition is a strategic complement to our crop protection, biotechnology and digital farming activities. At the same time, it marks our entry into the seed business for key field crops and vegetables, as well as non-selective herbicides and nematicide seed treatments. With the transaction, our portfolio now also includes the global glufosinate-ammonium non-selective herbicide business, which is marketed under the Liberty®, Basta® and Finale® brands. The seed businesses comprise traits, research and breeding capabilities as well as the corresponding brands for key field crops in selected markets. These include canola hybrids in North America under the InVigor® brand with LibertyLink® trait technology, as well as the oilseed rape business mainly in European markets, cotton in the Americas and Europe, and soybean in the Americas. We also acquired the R&D platform for hybrid wheat,1 a range of seed treatment products, certain glyphosate-based herbicides in Europe used predominantly for industrial applications, xarvio® digital farming solutions and other non-selective herbicide and nematicide research projects. We are committed to ensuring the responsible use of our products and the preservation of a healthy environment. We also invest continuously in our development pipeline to provide our customers an increasingly wide range of integrated offers. The combination of our existing activities and the acquired businesses increases our innovation potential and strengthens our market position and competitiveness in the long term. For more information on our R&D activities, see Research and development The success of our customers depends on many factors such as weather, plant health, soil conditions and prices for agricultural produce. Modern farmers have to analyze more and more data of increasing complexity to make the right cultivation decisions. BASF’s innovative digital applications help our customers to use this data to their advantage, supporting better decision-making and ensuring more efficient and sustainable resource allocation. The acquisition of xarvio® digital farming solutions complements our digital offering with novel products with additional functionalities and access to new technologies. 1 Reported under Other back next