BASF India : Annual Report 2022-2023

Message from the Managing Director

I am honored to address you as the new Managing Director of your Company, BASF India Limited. I assume this role with great enthusiasm and a deep sense of responsibility. Having been part of BASF Group for 23 years, I am well acquainted with the core values, strategic priorities, and the immense potential that lies within our Company. Building on the strong foundation laid by my predecessors, I am eager to lead your Company together with our dedicated team of professionals as we continue to navigate towards sustainable and profitable growth. I thank you, my team and the Board of Directors for the support and confidence entrusted in me.

Since moving into this role, I have extensively engaged with our employees, visited our production sites, and met key customers and stakeholders across the country. I am impressed by all the interactions so far and am confident that together, we will navigate the future with resilience, overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities to continue to deliver sustainable results.

The fiscal year 22-23 was influenced by major events. The ongoing war in Ukraine has significantly compromised the global geopolitical stability and macroeconomy. The resulting energy crisis in Europe contributed to inflationary pressures in many countries, and rising interest rates further dampened demand development. Meanwhile China, the largest chemical market, maintained a strict zero-Covid policy resulting in sustained lockdowns throughout most part of the fiscal year. The slowdown in the ongoing global consumer demand became increasingly visible from the second half of 2022, also against the backdrop of a receding pent-up demand post the pandemic.

India was not completely isolated from these events, albeit the local economy maintained an impressive robustness overall. Your Company showed resilience despite macroeconomic uncertainties and our sales increased by 4.2% to Rs. 136,447.7 million. You may also be pleased to note that your Company ended the year with zero-debt achievement. Our balanced portfolio enabled us to capture opportunities with strong profit contributions from our Agricultural Solutions, Nutrition & Care and Surface Technologies segments partially offsetting heavy margin pressures in our Chemicals and Materials segments. At the same time, we maintained a stable working capital and delivered a solid 21.5% return on capital employed (ROCE). Your Company launched new innovations such as Exponus®, a revolutionary insecticide for farmers in the fruits and vegetable segment, which achieved extraordinary sales in record time. We continued to expand our production capabilities, i.e., with a new production line at Dahej for polymer dispersions and expansion of engineering plastics capacity at Panoli. To also cater to the Indian market, your Company launched "Dynago®" range of tropical coolants designed specifically for Indian weather conditions.

Your Company maintained a solid safety track record with zero high severity incidents. While it continues to drive its digitalization initiatives across the sites with a focus on optimizing operations, it also remains devoted towards its sustainability goals, for example, by implementing a power purchase agreement for hybrid solar power at Dahej and Mangalore sites. We also remained steadfast in our commitment to corporate social responsibility and promote diversity as well as inclusion within our workforce.

Considering the financial performance of the Company, the Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of 80% i.e. Rs. 8/- per equity share (previous year Rs. 6/- per equity share) for the fiscal year ended 31st March, 2023.

Looking ahead our focus is to sustain the volume growth momentum despite the overall globally prolonged demand contraction. We will maintain proximity to our customers, optimize asset utilization, and continue to exercise prudent control over working capital and expenses. At the same time, we shall not lose sight of our long-term strategic imperatives and continue to drive our sustainability and digitalization roadmaps, fortify our talent pipeline and promote diversity and inclusion at all levels of our organization. Our commitment to preserve safe and efficient operations will continue to be fundamental to enable sustained success.

I would like to express my gratitude to our talented employees, as well as our customers, partners, and stakeholders for their continued collaboration. Finally, I thank the Board of Directors and you all, our dear shareholders, for your trust and support.

Let us continue to create chemistry for a sustainable future! Warm regards,

Alexander Gerding

Managing Director

Annual Report 2022-2023

79th Annual General Meeting

Friday, 4th August, 2023 at 3.00 p.m. through Video Conferencing / Other Audio Visual Means.

Agenda

1. Presentation of Audited Financial Statements and the Directors' / Auditors' Reports thereon.
2. Declaration of Dividend.
3. Re-appointmentof Director.

4-7. Special Business:

Notice of the Meeting is attached.

BASF India Limited

Registered Office:

The Capital, 'A' Wing, 1204-C 12th Floor, Plot No. C-70,'G'-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400051.

Telephone : [phone]

Website :www.basf.com/in

E-mailID :[e-mail]

Corporate Identification Number:

L33112MH1943FLC003972

Manufacturing Sites:

Maharashtra (Navi Mumbai)

Plot No. 12, TTC Industrial Area, MIDC, Thane-Belapur Road, Turbhe, Navi Mumbai - 400 705.

Karnataka (Mangalore)

Bala/Thokur Village, Surathkal-Bajpe Road,

Mangalore Taluka, Dakshina Kannada District,

Karnataka - 575 030.

Gujarat (Dahej)

4B, Dahej Industrial Estate, Village Dahej,

Taluka Vagra, District Bharuch, Gujarat - 392 130.

Gujarat (Panoli)

Village Umarwada,

Survey No 432/1+2,

Taluka Ankleshwar, Gujarat - 393 001

India.

Offices:

Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Lucknow and Pune

Registrar & Share Transfer Agent:

TSR Consultants Private Limited Unit : BASF India Limited, C-101, 1st Floor, 247 Park,

Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, Vikhroli (West), Mumbai - 400 083. Tel. No. : [phone] Fax No.: [phone] Email : [e-mail]

Contents

	Page
Board of Directors &
Key Managerial Personnel	2
Directors' Report	4
Management Discussion and
Analysis Report	58
Report on Corporate Governance	68
Independent Auditors' Report	87
Balance Sheet	98
Statement of Profit & Loss	99
Cash Flow Statement	100
Statement of Changes in Equity	102
Notes to the Financial Statements
for the financial year ended
31st March, 2023	103

BASF India Limited

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Board of Directors & Key Managerial Personnel

Mr. Pradip P. Shah	Mr. Alexander Gerding	Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva	Dr. Carola Richter
	Chairman	Managing Director

Mr. R. A. Shah	Mrs. Shyamala Gopinath		Mr. Arun Bewoor

Mr. Narendranath J. Baliga	Mr. Anil Choudhary	Mr. Manohar Kamath
Chief Financial Officer &	Manufacturing Head &	Company Secretary
Alternate Director	Whole-time Director

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Annual Report 2022-2023

Management Committee	Bankers
Mr. Alexander Gerding	(i)	Citibank N.A.
Mr. Narendranath J. Baliga	(ii)	Deutsche Bank AG
(iii)	BNP Paribas
Mr. Anil Choudhary
(iv)	Credit Agricole CIB
Mr. Manohar Kamath
(v)	Bank of America
	(vi)	HDFC Bank Limited
	(vii) Mizuho Bank
Statutory Auditors
Messrs Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP	Secretarial Auditors
252, Veer Savarkar Marg,	Messrs HSPN & Associates, LLP
Shivaji Park, Dadar (West),	206, 2nd Floor,
Mumbai - 400 028.	Tantia Jogani Industrial Estate,
	J. R. Boricha Marg, Opp. Lodha Excelus,
Cost Auditors	Lower Parel (E), Mumbai - 400 011.
Messrs R. Nanabhoy & Co.	Advocates & Solicitors
Cost Accountants
Messrs Crawford Bayley & Co.
Jer Mansion,
State Bank Building, 4th Floor,
70 August Kranti Marg,
N. G. N. Vaidya Marg, Fort,
Mumbai - 400 036.
Mumbai - 400 023.
Internal Auditors	Director - Legal, General Counsel (India) &
Messrs Mahajan & Aibara	Company Secretary
Mr. Manohar Kamath
Chartered Accountants

1, Chawla House,

62, Wodehouse Road,

Colaba, Mumbai - 400 005.

Dr. Carola Richter, President of BASF Asia-Pacific (excluding Greater China), hosted a networking dinner to introduce Alexander Gerding, Managing

Director of BASF India Limited to stakeholders, key customers and members of industries and associations.

BASF India Limited

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