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LUDWIGSHAFEN and MANNHEIM, GERMANY -- (Marketwired) -- 04/26/13 -- BASF increased its sales and income from operations (EBIT) before special items in the first quarter of 2013. At EUR 19.7 billion, sales exceeded the level of the previous first quarter by 5 percent. Sales volumes grew particularly as a result of intensified demand for crop protection products and increased volumes in the Oil & Gas segment. EBIT before special items rose by 10 percent to EUR 2.2 billion.

"We have had a solid start to 2013. In particular, our business with crop protection products continued to be very successful," said Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting in the Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim. The increase in EBIT before special items in the first quarter was also due to considerable earnings improvement in the Chemicals segment thanks to higher margins.

Compared with the previous first quarter, EBIT declined by EUR 429 million to around EUR 2.2 billion. Special income from the divestiture of the fertilizer business of EUR 645 million in the first quarter of the previous year was primarily responsible for this reduction. Income from operations before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) thus decreased by EUR 450 million to around EUR 2.9 billion. The financial result amounted to minus EUR 126 million compared with minus EUR 158 million in the first quarter of 2012.

Income before taxes and minority interests decreased by EUR 397 million to EUR 2.0 billion compared with the previous first quarter. Net income declined by EUR 257 million to EUR 1.4 billion. Earnings per share were EUR 1.57 in the first quarter of 2013, compared with EUR 1.85 in the same period of 2012. Adjusted for special items and amortization of intangible assets, earnings per share were EUR 1.67, an increase of EUR 0.13 compared with the first quarter of the previous year.

Cash provided by operating activities rose to over EUR 2.0 billion in the first quarter of 2013, up by EUR 502 million compared with the first quarter of the previous year. Net debt was reduced to about EUR 10.9 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2013, compared with about EUR 11.2 billion as of December 31, 2012.

The Board of Executive Directors and the Supervisory Board proposed to the Annual Shareholders' Meeting that the dividend for the 2012 business year be increased by EUR 0.10 to EUR 2.60 per share. This represents a payout of almost EUR 2.4 billion to shareholders. Based on the year-end share price for 2012, BASF shares thus offer a high dividend yield of 3.7 percent. BASF is part of the DivDAX share index, which contains the 15 companies with the highest dividend yield in the DAX 30. "We stand by our ambitious dividend policy and aim to increase our dividend each year, or at least maintain it at the previous year's level," said Bock.

North America

In North America, sales fell by 2 percent both in U.S. dollars and in euro terms. Sales declined in the chemicals business (which comprises the Chemicals, Performance Products and Functional Materials & Solutions segments) mainly as a result of lower volumes. Plant shutdowns in the Petrochemicals division were largely responsible for this. However, volumes and sales significantly improved in the Agricultural Solutions segment.