Disclosures on BASF SE in Accordance with the German Commercial Code (HGB)
The content of this section is not part of the statutory audit of the annual financial statements but has undergone a separate limited assurance by our auditor.
The content of this section is voluntary, unaudited information, which was critically read by the auditor.
The Management’s Report of BASF SE is combined with the Management’s Report of the BASF Group. As a publicly listed parent company, BASF SE takes a central position in the BASF Group: Directly or indirectly, it holds the shares in the companies belonging to the BASF Group and is also one of the largest operating companies. A complete overview of BASF SE’s operating business is provided by the Consolidated Financial Statements of the BASF Group.
Corporate Structure
BASF SE operates the BASF Group’s largest Verbund site in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany, and is one of the most important operating companies of the Group. In addition to marketing its own production to third parties, BASF SE supplies its products to other BASF Group companies, which process them in downstream production or sell them on the local market. BASF SE also distributes products from other BASF Group companies. All divisions, with the exception of Coatings, were active within BASF SE in 2025. As the parent company, BASF SE is also responsible for various central tasks, such as Group management and large parts of the Corporate Center. In addition, extensive research activities are bundled here.
As the top parent company, BASF SE directly or indirectly holds the shares in the companies belonging to the BASF Group. This is reflected above all in the financial assets and the financial result.
Due to this distinct integration into the BASF Group, BASF SE is managed within the framework of the BASF Group’s Steering Concept and has not implemented a separate steering concept. Income from operations is the most suitable indicator for assessing business performance and is therefore BASF SE’s most important financial key performance indicator.
The Financial Statements of BASF SE are prepared in accordance with section 61 of Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001 of October 8, 2001, on the Statute for a European company (SE) and the applicable regulations for public limited-liability companies in the Member State in which it has its registered office, i.e., in accordance with the accounting regulations for the business year ending December 31, 2025, in particular the German Commercial Code (HGB) and the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG). The Consolidated Financial Statements of the BASF Group, however, include the financial statements of BASF SE, which are prepared in accordance with the IFRS® Accounting Standards of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB®) valid on the balance sheet date and the additional applicable rules under section 315e(1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB). IFRS® Accounting Standards are generally only applied after they have been endorsed by the European Union.