We create chemistry for a sustainable future

BASF in

South America

Report 2020

Key facts 2020

One of the top three

of the business

global market

areas in which

positions in around

70% BASF is active

€3,590

million

5,850

sales by location of

customer, group

employees in

consolidated, sales to

South America

third parties

90,000+

customers

in the world and

70,000

suppliers

€59,149

million

sales for the BASF Group

€2.1 billion

Research &

Development

expenses

Around

110,000

employees worldwide

billion of sales with Accelerator products,

€16.7 which significantly contribute to sustainability in the value chain

10,000

employees

in Research and

Development (R&D)

worldwide

30.6%

women employed

women in leadership

32.2%

in South America1

in South America

1Includes all consolidated BASF Group

companies and management, directorship

and vice-chairmanship positions

Mata Viva®:

33,500

83.4%

144 hectares of green area

reforested with trees of

tons of CO2

different ages in the Chemical

removed from

Waste recycled from

Complex in Guaratingueta

the atmosphere

chemical production of

(SP, Brazil), since 1984

BASF in South America

2002-2020

42%

A reduction of

58%

increase in absolute

specific water consumption

production volume

per ton of chemicals

in tons per year

produced in South America

1.7 million

We held

We donated more than

700

people

115 actions

favored in South America

aimed at minimizing

by social engagement

the impacts of the

tons

actions in the fight

pandemic on society

of products in partnership

against COVID-19

with our customers

in South America

Index

Index

1

-

About this report

4

2

-

Message from President

5

3

-

BASF Group 2020 at a glance

6

3.1

-

The BASF Group

7

3.2

-

BASF in the regions

13

3.3

-

BASF on the capital market

15

4 -

BASF in South America

17

4.1

-

Implementation on our corporate strategy

19

4.2

-

2020 Situation

20

4.3

-

People build our success

24

4.4

-

Sustainability

30

4.5

-

Innovation

38

4.6

-

Digitalization

41

4.7

-

Portfolio

44

4.8

-

Operations

46

Strong virtual connections

5

-

Ten years overview - BASF Global

48

6

-

Additional information

49

In 2020, we experienced a substantial commitment of our

teams in South America, those who maintained our business

working from home, as well as those who maintained our

operations by working in the units. Together, they have

contributed to fighting the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have used virtual media to be more united. We have worked

with our customers and partners to overcome challenges. We

have created new ways of doing business, with creativity, agility

and quality.

Connection, innovation and commitment: this way, we create

chemistry for a sustainable future.

About this report

The "BASF in South America" Report is published annually as a document on the performance of our activities in the three pillars of sustainability - economy, environment and society. The reference period for this publication is the fiscal year 2020. This report also provides an overview of the BASF Group, together with its financial performance, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and, where applicable, the German Commercial Code as well as the German Accounting Standards (DRSC). Emissions, waste, energy and water use from consolidated joint operations are included, based proportionally on our participation. The number of employees refer to employees employed by the BASF Group as of December 31, 2020. The scope of this review and the main focus points of our reports are defined based on the topics along the value chain, which we identified in internal strategic discussion processes, ongoing global data analysis and dialog with shareholders.

For more information on our selection of sustainability topics, see from page 33 onwards and basf.com/materiality

1 The people depicted in this report complied with the regulations in place at the time the photos were taken - before or during the coronavirus pandemic. The photos in which people appear without wearing a mask were taken before March 12, 2020.

2 BASF is committed to promoting gender equity, which also involves attention to the use of language. Some words have only the masculine form in Portuguese because of its specificity. If they do not explicitly address the male gender, they are referring to all people in general.

3 Hyperlinks direct to complementary content in Spanish.

4

BASF in South America 2020 Report

Message from president

"We connect people and organizations, because we believe that only together we can succeed in creating chemistry for a sustainable future."

The year 2020 was marked by the effects of an unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis that affected healthcare systems and the economy worldwide. Our operations were also globally and regionally affected by this crisis.

United by our purpose to create chemistry for a sustainable future, our activities are aimed at three fronts: health and safety of our employees, service to our customers, and support to society.

With the commitment of our employees and the partnership with communities, governments, customers, and suppliers, we have reacted quickly to the crisis, keeping our activities in operation, with teams working from home office and also in our production plants.

Message from president

BASF for South America

The pandemic highlighted the importance of raw materials and solutions developed by the chemical industry, as we develop products that became essential for the pharmaceutical, hygiene, sanitation, household cleaning and packaging segments, among others. Our presence in different segments has enabled us to contribute to reduce the impacts of the health emergency and to safely deliver products to our customers. Moreover, we have reinforced our sustainability actions with significant impacts on society, as for example with the social engagement actions in the fight against COVID-19, which served more than 1.7 million people throughout South America. With different technologies, we have been close to our customers and we have strengthened our digital presence and our sustainable performance.

Even with the numerous challenges imposed on us during the year, we were able to grow in volume in South America in most segments. However, we were affected by the strong devaluation of local currencies, especially in Brazil and Argentina. As a result, the company's 2020 sales in South America decreased 6% compared to 2019, totaling €3.6 billion1.

We challenge ourselves day after day, setting and pursuing ambitious goals throughout the value chain, which you will learn about in this report. Therefore, we effectively live our purpose.

I would like to express my solidarity with all the people who have been directly impacted by the pandemic in their families.

Sincerely,

Manfredo Rübens

President BASF for South America

1 Regions: location of customer, group consolidated, sales to third parties; Sites: by legal entity, including sales to BASF group companies.

BASF in South America 2020 Report

5

BASF Group 2020 at a glance

BASF Group 2020 at a glance

Segment data

Key data

Sales

million €

EBITDA before special itemsa

million €

EBITDAa

million €

EBIT before special itemsa

million €

EBITa

million €

Net income

million €

ROCE

%

Earnings per share

Total assets

million €

Investments including

acquisitionsb

million €

Employees at year-end

Personnel expenses

million €

Research and

development expenses

million €

Greenhouse gas

million metric tons

emissionsc

of CO

2

equivalents

Energy efficiency in

kilograms of sales

production processes

product/MWh

Accelerator sales

million €

Number of on-site sustainability audits of raw material suppliers

2020

2019

+/-

59,149

59,316

-0.3%

7,435

8,324

-10.7%

6,494

8,185

-20.7%

3,560

4,643

-23.3%

-191

4,201

.

-1,060

8,421

.

1.7

7.7

-

-1.15

9.17

.

80,292

86,950

-7.7%

4,869

4,097

18.8%

2020

2019

+/-

110,302

117,628

-6.2%

10,576

10,924

-3.2%

2,086

2,158

-3.3%

20.8

20.1

3.5%

540

598

-9.7%

16,740

15,017

11.5%

50

81

-38.3%

Chemicals

Million €

Sales

2020

8,071

2019

9,532

EBIT before special items

2020

445

2019

791

Materials

Million €

Sales

2020

10,736

2019

11,466

EBIT before special items

2020

835

2019

1,003

Industrial Solutions

Million €

Sales

2020

7,644

2019

8,389

EBIT before special items

2020

822

2019

820

Surface Technologies

Million €

Sales

2020

16,659

2019

13,142

EBIT before special items

2020

484

2019

722

Nutrition & Care

Million €

Sales

2020

6,019

2019

6,075

EBIT before special items

2020

773

2019

793

Agricultural Solutions

Million €

Sales

2020

7,660

2019

7,814

EBIT before special items

2020

970

2019

1,095

  1. Restated figures 2019; for more information, see basf.com/report
  2. Additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets
  3. Excluding sale of energy to third parties

6

This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.

Attachments

  • Original document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

BASF SE published this content on 28 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 28 May 2021 08:30:01 UTC.