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Investors
2nd Quarter 2015 dated July 24, 2015
Dear newsletter subscriber,
We are pleased to send you the latest edition of the Investor Relations Magazine. We publish this electronic journal four times a year immediately after the reporting dates.
You will continue to receive important press releases by e-mail as usual.
We hope that our Investor Relations Magazine makes interesting reading.
Best wishes,
Your BASF Investor Relations Team
Latest Publication
Second-Quarter Results 2015: Earnings in first half of 2015 at prior-year level
- Sales rise by 3% to €39.1 billion, considerable earnings growth in Functional Materials & Solutions segment
- Outlook for 2015 confirmed:
Slight sales increase expected, EBIT before special items likely to match level of 2014
BASF at the stock markets
BASF share performances
Stock markets saw an upward trend at the beginning of the second quarter of 2015 due to improved economic figures in the eurozone as well as the European Central Bank’s continued expansive monetary policy. The German benchmark index DAX 30 achieved a new record high on April 10, reaching 12,375 points. BASF shares, too, hit an all-time high of €96.72 on this date. As the quarter progressed, concerns about Greece’s financial solvency, speculation as to when the U.S. Federal Reserve would enact an anticipated key interest rate increase, and weak economic figures from China all especially contributed to a drop in share prices.
The BASF share declined as a result, trading at €78.82 at the end of the quarter. Compared with the closing price of the first quarter of 2015, this represents a loss of 14.8%. Assuming the dividend of €2.80 paid out on May 4, 2015, was reinvested, our share performance came out to minus 12.2%. In the second quarter, the DAX 30 and the European benchmark index DJ EURO STOXX 50 dipped by 8.5% and 5.8%, respectively. Over the same period, the global industry index MSCI World Chemicals declined by 0.8%, while DJ Chemicals grew by 0.6%.
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Good credit ratings and solid financing
BASF has good credit ratings, especially in comparison with competitors in the chemical industry. Rating agency Moody’s last confirmed their rating of “A1/P-1 outlook stable” on May 5, 2015. Standard & Poor’s adjusted their rating of “A+/A-1” to an outlook of “negative” on April 10, 2015. This was mainly due to an increase in pension provisions as a result of declining capital market interest rates. We continue to have solid financing. Since the beginning of the year, net debt has grown by €1.4 billion to €15.1 billion.
Financial communication honored again
Our financial communication has again won awards. The annual survey conducted by Britain’s IR Magazine honored our work with awards such as Best Investor Meeting for our communication with investors. We also took first prize in the Materials sector and in Corporate Governance.
