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, 2020, have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and section 315e (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB). IFRSs are generally only applied after they have been endorsed by the European Union. For the 2020 fiscal year, all of the binding IFRSs and pronouncements of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) were applied. The Consolidated Financial Statements are for the period from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and are presented in euros. They are written in German and translated into English. 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. Business continuity is assumed regardless of the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The accounting policies applied are largely the same as those used in 2019.

One change arose with respect to the presentation of some of the investments accounted for using the equity method that are not an integral part of the BASF Group. Income from non-integral companies accounted for using the equity method is no longer presented in the BASF Group’s EBIT, but under net income from shareholdings. Due to its increased significance, this will be presented as a separate subtotal within income before income taxes and is no longer part of the financial result. Integral and non-integral investments accounted for using the equity method will also be shown separately in the balance sheet. The statement of income for 2019 has been restated accordingly.

On February 23, 2021, 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.