5 – Reporting by Segment and Region

The BASF Group’s business is operated by 11 divisions, grouped into six segments:

• Chemicals: Petrochemicals, Intermediates
• Materials: Performance Materials, Monomers
• Industrial Solutions: Dispersions & Pigments, Performance Chemicals
• Surface Technologies: Catalysts, Coatings
• Nutrition & Care: Care Chemicals, Nutrition & Health
• Agricultural Solutions: Agricultural Solutions

The divisions are allocated to the segments based on their business models and according to their focal points, customer groups, the focus of their innovations, their investment relevance and sustainability aspects.

The Chemicals segment comprises the Petrochemicals and Intermediates divisions and is the cornerstone of BASF’s Verbund structure. It supplies the other segments with basic chemicals and intermediates, contributing to the organic growth of our key value chains. Alongside internal transfers, customers include the chemical and plastics industries. The segment’s competitiveness is strengthened by technological leadership and operational excellence.

The Materials segment is composed of the Performance Materials division and the Monomers division. The segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for new applications and systems. Its product portfolio includes isocyanates and polyamides as well as inorganic basic products and specialties for plastics and plastics processing.

The Industrial Solutions segment consists of the Dispersions & Pigments and the Performance Chemicals divisions. The segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, pigments, resins, electronic materials, antioxidants and additives. Its customers come from key industries such as automotive, plastics and electronics.

The Surface Technologies segment bundles chemical solutions for surfaces with the Catalysts and Coatings divisions. Its product spectrum includes catalysts and battery materials for the automotive and chemical industries, surface treatments, colors and coatings.

The Nutrition & Care segment comprises the Care Chemicals division and the Nutrition & Health division. The segment produces ingredients and solutions for consumer applications in the areas of nutrition, home and personal care. Its customers include food and feed producers as well as the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and the detergent and cleaner industries.

The Agricultural Solutions segment consists of the division of the same name. As an integrated provider, its portfolio comprises fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and biological crop protection products, as well as seeds and seed treatment products. Furthermore, Agricultural Solutions offers farmers innovative solutions, including those based on digital technologies, combined with practical advice.

Activities that are not allocated to any of the segments are recorded under Other. These include other businesses, which comprise commodity trading, engineering and other services, rental income and leases. Discontinued operations and certain activities remaining after divestitures are also reported here.

The following activities are also presented under Other:

• The steering of the BASF Group by corporate headquarters.
• Cross-divisional corporate research, which includes plant biotechnology research, works on long-term topics of strategic importance to the BASF Group. Furthermore, it focuses on the development of specific key technologies, which are of central importance for the divisions.
• Results from currency translation that are not allocated to the segments; earnings from the hedging of raw materials prices and foreign currency exchange risks; and gains and losses from the long-term incentive programs (LTI programs).
• Remanent fixed costs resulting from organizational changes or restructuring; function and region-related restructuring costs not allocated to a division; idle capacity costs from internal human resource platforms; and consolidation effects that cannot be allocated to the divisions.

Income from operations of Other declined by €685 million year on year, from –€518 million to –€1,203 million. The costs for cross-divisional corporate research decreased by €33 million to –€364 million, and the costs of corporate headquarters were €17 million lower at –€214 million. Income from other businesses rose by €5 million to €169 million. The line item foreign currency results, hedging and other measurement effects improved by €30 million to –€59 million. In addition to currency effects, the improvement was due mainly to earnings from hedging transactions. The line item miscellaneous income and expenses decreased by –€770 million from €35 million to –€735 million. This was due especially to expenses related to the realignment of the Global Business Services unit and to positive effects in 2019 primarily from adjustments to pension benefits in the United States and gains from the sale of BASF’s share of the Klybeck site in Basel, Switzerland.

The same accounting rules are used for segment reporting as those used for the Group, which are presented in these Notes. Transfers between the segments are generally executed at adjusted market-based prices, taking into account the higher cost efficiency and lower risk of intragroup transactions. Assets, as well as their depreciation and amortization, are allocated to the segments based on economic control. Assets used by more than one segment are allocated based on the percentage of usage.

Income from operations (EBIT) before special items is used for the internal steering of the segments and complements the key management indicator, ROCE. It is determined based on EBIT, which is calculated from gross profit on sales, selling expenses, general administrative expenses, research and development expenses, other operating income and expenses, and income from integral companies accounted for using the equity method. To calculate EBIT before special items, this figure is then adjusted for special items. Special items arise from the integration of acquired businesses, restructuring costs, certain impairments, gains or losses resulting from divestitures and sales of integral investments accounted for using the equity method, and other expenses and income that arise outside of ordinary business activities. EBIT and EBIT before special items are alternative performance measures that are not defined under IFRS and are to be considered as being complementary to the indicators defined by IFRS.

In the United States, sales to third parties in 2020 amounted to €14,352 million (2019: €14,211 million) according to location of companies and €13,414 million (2019: €13,506 million) according to location of customers. In the United States, intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and investments accounted for using the equity method amounted to €9,967 million on December 31, 2020, compared with €12,115 million in the previous year.

In China, sales to third parties in 2020 amounted to €7,839 million (2019: €7,216 million) according to location of companies and €7,877 million (2019: €6,734 million) according to location of customers. In China, intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and investments accounted for using the equity method amounted to €3,799 million on December 31, 2020, compared with €4,299 million in the previous year.