Full Year 2015, February 26, 2016

BASF at the stock markets

BASF share performance
The weak euro and the European Central Bank’s (ECB) announced intention to purchase large amounts of additional bonds both provided the stock markets with a positive start to 2015. On April 10, 2015, new record highs were achieved as the German benchmark index DAX 30 closed at 12,375 points and the BASF share price at €96.72. As the second quarter progressed, concerns – especially about Greece’s financial solvency – led to share price losses. The second half of the year saw the market rebound as European finance ministers approved the third bailout package for Greece and the eurozone produced robust economic figures. This was followed by considerable dips, due in large part to the weak economic situation in China and severe recession in Brazil. The further depreciation of the euro, positive economic development and speculation as to a renewed expansion of the ECB’s monetary policy initially led to a fourth-quarter boost in share prices, including the BASF share. Prices dropped again in December, however, after the ECB announced intentions to continue easing its monetary policy, a decision that disappointed many investors who had anticipated more expansive measures.

BASF shares traded at €70.72 at the end of 2015, 1.2% above the previous year’s closing price. Assuming that dividends were reinvested, BASF shares gained 4.4% in value in 2015. This did not match the performance of the German and European stock markets, whose benchmark indexes DAX 30 and DJ EURO STOXX 50 gained 9.6% and 6.4% over the same period, respectively. As for the global industry indexes, DJ Chemicals fell by 3.3% in 2015 while MSCI World Chemicals declined by 0.6%. Viewed over a ten-year period, the long-term performance of BASF shares still clearly outperforms these indexes. The assets of an investor who invested €1,000 in BASF shares at the end of 2005 and reinvested the dividends in additional BASF shares would have increased to €3,195 by the end of 2015. This represents a yield of 12.3% each year, placing BASF shares above the returns for the DAX 30 (7.1%), EURO STOXX 50 (2.2%) and MSCI World Chemicals (7.4%) indexes.
Stock Chart

Dividendproposal of €2.90 per share
At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend payment of €2.90 per share. We stand by our ambitious dividend policy and plan to pay out almost €2.7 billion to our shareholders. Based on the year-end share price for 2015, BASF shares offer a high dividend yield of around 4.1%. BASF is part of the DivDAX share index, which contains the fifteen companies with the highest dividend yield in the DAX 30. We aim to increase our dividend each year, or at least maintain it at the previous year’s level.
More information on dividend

Close dialog with the capital market
Our corporate strategy aims to create long-term value. We support this strategy through regular and open communication with all capital market participants. To keep institutional investors and rating agencies informed, we host numerous one-on-one meetings and roadshows worldwide. We also hold informational events to provide private investors with insight into BASF.

At the end of September, we discussed the implementation of our “We create chemistry” strategy with analysts and investors at an Investor Day held in Ludwigshafen. The members of our Board of Executive Directors as well as our divisional presidents presented all five segments and their operating divisions to around a hundred guests. We used numerous examples to illustrate how BASF’s innovations are used in key customer industries.

In 2015, we once again put on roadshows geared specifically toward investors who base their investment decisions on sustainability criteria. There, we especially outlined our measures for climate protection and energy efficiency. In addition, we conducted several special creditor relations roadshows, where creditors and credit analysts could learn more about our business and our financing strategy.

Investors can find comprehensive information about BASF and BASF shares on our website and on social media platforms.

Analysts and investors have confirmed the quality of our communication work: We took several leading rankings in Institutional Investor Magazine’s annual survey in 2015. These included first prize in the Best Analyst Days in Europe (Chemicals) category for the Chemicals Investor Day held in London in 2014. Moreover, our investor relations activities were honored by the U.K.’s Investor Relations Society with first place in the “International” category.