Business Review Sales down 15% to €8,071 million, mainly due to lower prices EBIT before special items declines 44% to €445 million as a result of considerably lower contributions from both divisions Sales to third parties in the Chemicals segment declined by €1,461 million year on year to €8,071 million in 2020. This was primarily due to the considerable decrease in the Petrochemicals division, where sales declined by €1,244 million to €5,426 million. At €2,645 million, sales in the Intermediates division decreased by €217 million compared with the prior-year figure. (XLSX:) XLS Factors influencing sales – Chemicals Chemicals Petrochemicals Intermediates Volumes 0% 0% 1% Prices –13% –17% –7% Portfolio 0% 0% 0% Currencies –2% –2% –2% Sales –15% –19% –8% Sales development was mainly driven by significantly lower prices. In the Petrochemicals division, prices declined in almost all value chains as a result of lower raw materials prices and higher product availability on the market. Higher product availability on the market also led to lower prices in the Intermediates division, particularly in the acids and polyalcohols business and in the butanediol and derivatives business. Sales were also negatively impacted by currency effects. Volumes matched the prior-year level. The Intermediates division recorded slightly higher volumes in Asia, mainly in the amines business. This was offset by lower sales volumes, especially in the amines business in Europe and in the butanediol and derivatives business in North America. In the Petrochemicals division, volumes were at the level of the previous year. Sales volumes declined, primarily due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the unplanned outage at the steam cracker in Port Arthur, Texas. The main offsetting factor was higher volumes of steam cracker products in Europe. (XLSX:) XLS Segment data – Chemicals (Million €) 2020 2019 +/– Sales to third parties 8,071 9,532 –15% of which Petrochemicals 5,426 6,670 –19% Intermediates 2,645 2,862 –8% Intersegment transfers 2,861 3,428 –17% Sales including transfers 10,932 12,960 –16% Income from operations before depreciation, amortization and special items 1,305 1,574 –17% Income from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) 1,237 1,545 –20% EBITDA margin % 15.3 16.2 – Depreciation and amortizationa 1,429 923 55% Income from operations (EBIT) –192 622 . Special items –637 –169 . EBIT before special items 445 791 –44% Return on capital employed (ROCE) % –2.2 6.8 – Assets 7,896 8,978 –12% Investments including acquisitionsb 871 1,108 –21% Research and development expenses 96 108 –11% a Depreciation and amortization of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (including impairments and reversals of impairments) b Additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets Petrochemicals – Sales by region Location of customer Intermediates – Sales by region Location of customer Income from operations (EBIT) before special items was €445 million, €346 million below the 2019 figure. The considerable decrease affected both divisions, but in particular the Petrochemicals division, and was primarily attributable to lower margins. EBIT declined by €814 million year on year to –€192 million. This included special charges of €637 million, mainly for impairments on property, plant and equipment in North America, Asia and Europe. These primarily reflected expectations of a prolonged oversupply of basic chemicals and the resulting decrease in prices and margins. Outlook for 2021 back next