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Ludwigshafen – March 17, 2020 – Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus (SARS‑CoV‑2) in Germany, BASF SE will not be able to hold its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on April 30, 2020 at the Rosengarten Congress Center as planned. The health of employees, shareholders and the service providers involved takes priority. The state of Baden-Württemberg has banned events with more than 100 participants for the time being until June 15, 2020.

BASF announced today an increased projected peak sales potential for its innovation pipeline of agricultural solutions of more than €7.5 billion. By 2029, the company will launch more than 30 key projects, including novel seeds and traits, chemical and biological crop protection, digital products and new formulations broadening its offer. In line with its strategy in agriculture, the company increases focus on connected solutions for farmers to enable balancing agricultural productivity, environmental protection and society’s needs. BASF will build on its research and development (R&D) investment for agricultural solutions over recent years with a planned expenditure in 2020 around the prior-year level. In 2019 alone, the company spent €879 million in research and development in the Agricultural Solutions division; representing around 11% of sales for the segment.

BASF generated sales of €59.3 billion in the 2019 business year; the slight decline in sales compared with the previous year resulted from lower volumes and prices. Income from operations (EBIT) before special items was €4.5 billion, down by €1.7 billion from the prior-year level as a result of lower contributions from the Materials and Chemicals segments.