Annual impact of US$/€ exchange rate change on BASF Group
(exchange rate: – $0.01 per €)
Factbook
Factors Influencing Sales and Currency Impact
Factors influencing sales of the BASF Group
Change in %
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Volumes | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | –3 | –1 | 10.6 | –7.0 | –8.4 |
| Prices | –3 | –9 | –4 | 8 | 4 | –3 | 3 | 24.8 | 11.9 | –10.0 |
| Currencies | –1 | 6 | –1 | –1 | –4 | 2 | –3 | –2.4 | 6.1 | –2.5 |
| Acquisitions/divestitures | 0 | –5 | –15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | –0.1 | 0.1 | –0.2 |
| Total | 0 | –5 | –18 | 12 | 2 | –2 | 0 | 32.9 | 11.1 | –21.1 |
Factors influencing sales
Sales amounted to €68,902 million in the 2023 business year – a decrease of €18,424 million compared with the previous year. This sales development was mainly driven by considerably lower prices and volumes. Lower raw materials prices in particular led to lower prices in almost all segments. Considerable price increases in the Agricultural Solutions segment were unable to compensate for this. Sales volumes fell significantly in all segments as a result of weak demand from many of our customer industries. Currency effects, mainly relating to the Chinese renminbi, also weighed down sales performance. Portfolio effects, mainly in the Industrial Solutions segment and especially due to the sale of the kaolin minerals business as of September 30, 2022, also had a negative impact on sales.
Currency impact
Our competitiveness on global markets is influenced by fluctuations in exchange rates. For BASF’s sales, opportunities and risks arise in particular when the U.S. dollar exchange rate fluctuates. A full-year appreciation of the U.S. dollar against the euro by $0.01 would increase the BASF Group’s EBITDA by around €40 million, assuming other conditions remain the same. On the production side, we counter exchange rate risks by producing in the respective currency zones.
Sales
€230 million
EBITDA
€40 million
Financial currency risks result from the translation of receivables, liabilities and other monetary items in accordance with IAS 21 at the closing rate into the functional currency of the respective Group company. In addition, we incorporate planned purchase and sales transactions in foreign currencies into our financial foreign currency risk management. If necessary, we hedge these risks using derivative instruments.