Factbook

BASF on the Capital Market

With over 900,000 shareholders, BASF is one of the largest publicly owned companies with a high free float. An analysis of the shareholder structure carried out at the end of 2022 showed that, at around 19% of share capital, the United States and Canada made up the largest regional group of institutional investors. Institutional investors from Germany accounted for around 6%. Institutional investors from the United Kingdom and Ireland hold 7% of BASF shares, while investors from the rest of Europe hold a further 11% of capital. Approximately 45% of the company’s share capital is held by private investors, nearly all of whom reside in Germany. BASF is therefore one of the DAX companies with the largest percentage of private shareholders.

Shareholder structure

By region, rounded

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In many countries, we offer share purchase programs that turn our employees into BASF shareholders. In 2022, for example, around 27,100 employees (2021: around 23,600) purchased BASF shares worth €92.8 million (2021: €38.2 million).

BASF has participated in the program established by the international organization CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) for reporting on data relevant to climate protection since 2004. CDP represents over 680 investors with over $130 trillion in assets and more than 280 major organizations with $6.4 trillion in purchasing power. In 2022, BASF again scored an A– on CDP’s Climate List, giving it Leadership status. Among other things, the assessment considers the transparency of emissions reporting, the handling of risks and opportunities arising from climate change, the climate protection strategy and CO2 reduction measures.

BASF achieved the top rating of A in the CDP assessment for sustainable water management. The assessment takes into account how transparently companies report on their water management activities and how they reduce risks such as water scarcity. CDP also evaluates the extent to which product developments can contribute to sustainable water management for customers of the companies assessed. BASF continues to implement its sustainable water management target at all relevant production sites.

BASF participated in the CDP’s “Forests” assessment for the third time in 2022 and was ranked A–, as in previous years. BASF is committed to ending deforestation in the relevant businesses in which it is active. As such, BASF is one of the companies with Leadership status in this area as well.

BASF again achieved Prime status in the ISS ESG rating developed by Institutional Shareholder Services and is among the top 7% of the companies assessed. BASF received special recognition for addressing key sustainability issues such as environmental management, energy efficiency and business ethics with a comprehensive set of measures and processes.

In Morningstar Sustainalytics’1 ESG Risk Ratings, BASF belongs to the best category for “diversified chemicals” with a medium ESG risk and was recognized for its risk management, for example, in the areas of CO2 emissions, wastewater and waste, as well as occupational health and safety.

BASF is participating in a pilot project on the U.N. Global Compact’s new reporting format. We consistently support the U.N. Global Compact and its 10 principles of responsible business conduct and the Sustainable Development Goals.

1 Sustainalytics provides institutional investors and companies with ESG research, ratings and analytics.

The share price of BASF reached an annual high of €68.69 on February 11, 2022, before declining over the remainder of the year. This was mainly attributable to the Russian attack on Ukraine and the associated risks to natural gas supplies in Europe. The resulting high energy prices negatively impacted the competitiveness of energy-intensive companies in Europe in particular. In addition, high inflation and increased interest rates weakened demand in key customer industries, especially in the second half of the year.

Assuming that dividends were reinvested, BASF’s share performance declined by 19.7% in 2022. The benchmark indexes of the German and European stock markets – the DAX 40 and the EURO STOXX 50 – fell by 12.3% and 9.5% over the same period, respectively. The global industry index MSCI World Chemicals lost 15.5%.

Long-term performance of BASF shares compared with indexes

Average annual increase with dividends reinvested

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Change in value of an investment in BASF shares in 2022

With dividends reinvested; indexed

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American depositary receipts (ADRs) allow U.S. institutional and retail investors to trade and own non-U.S. companies directly through the U.S. equity markets. BASF has a sponsored level 1 program, which is traded on OTC-QX, the platform for international quality companies on OTC markets. BASF’s ADRs (Symbol: BASFY) are now included in International PremierQX, the highest OTC market tier.

More information on ADRs

Around 30 financial analysts regularly publish studies on BASF. The latest analyst recommendations for our shares as well as the average target share price ascribed to BASF by analysts can be found online at basf.com/analystestimates.

  2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Dividends (million €) 2,480 2,572 2,664 2,755 2,847 2,939 3,031 3,031 3,072 3,0351
Dividend per share (€) 2.70 2.80 2.90 3.00 3.10 3.20 3.30 3.30 3.40 3.40
Share price at year-end (€/share) 77.49 69.88 70.72 88.31 91.74 60.40 67.35 64.72 61.78 46.39
Dividend yield(%) 3.5 4.0 4.1 3.4 3.4 5.3 4.9 5.1 5.5 7.3
Payout ratio (%) 52 50 67 68 47 63 36 . 57 .
Price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio) 14.8 12.5 16.3 20.0 13.9 11.8 7.3 . 10.3 .
Free cash flow yield3 (%)  4.5 2.6 5.6 4.4 5.7 7.3 5.9 3.8 6.5 8.0

1 Based on the number of shares outstanding (893,854,929) minus the number of treasury shares held by BASF SE (1,332,765) on the date of the dividend payment

2 Based on year-end share price

3 Free cash flow per share at year-end divided by share price at year-end

For 2022, BASF paid a dividend of €3.40 per share and paid out €3.0 billion to its shareholders. Based on the year-end share price for 2022, BASF shares offer a high dividend yield of around 7.3%. BASF is part of the DivDAX share index, which contains the 15 companies with the highest dividend yield in the DAX 40.

Dividend per share

€3.40

Dividend yield

7.3%

Dividend policy:

We aim to increase the dividend per share every year.

Dividend per share

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Share buybacks are part of BASF’s toolboox but are currently not being used. On January 4, 2022, the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE resolved on a share buyback program. The program, which started on January 11, 2022, was intended to reach a volume of up to €3 billion by December 31, 2023, at the latest. In an ad hoc release, BASF announced on February 24, 2023, that it would terminate the share buyback program ahead of schedule. The decision was made in line with the company’s priorities for the use of cash and in view of the profound changes in the global economy in the course of 2022.

From January 11, 2022, until and including February 23, 2023, 25,956,530 shares were bought back, corresponding to 2.8 percent of the share capital on announcement of the program. The purchase price for these own shares totaled around €1.4 billion.

Regular and transparent communication with the capital market is key to increasing long-term value. We continued to use mainly virtual formats such as video or conference calls for dialog in 2022. We engage with institutional investors and rating agencies in numerous one-on-one meetings, as well as roadshows and conferences worldwide. We also give private investors insights into BASF at informational events.

Analysts and investors have confirmed the quality of our financial market communications. In the annual survey conducted by Britain’s IR Magazine, we placed first in the category “Best IR Website (Large Caps).”

Securities code numbers
Germany BASF11
United States (CUSIP number) 055262505
ISIN International Securities Identification Number DE000BASF111
International ticker symbols
Deutsche Börse BAS
Pink Sheets / OTCQX BASFY (ADR)
Bloomberg (Xetra trading) BAS GY
Reuters (Xetra trading) BASFn.DE
Last Update May 26, 2023