7 – Other Operating Income

Income from the adjustment and release of provisions recognized in other operating expenses was largely related to risks from lawsuits and damage claims, closures and restructuring measures, employee obligations, and various other individual items as part of the normal course of business. Provisions were reversed or adjusted if, based on the circumstances on the balance sheet date, utilization was no longer expected, or expected to a lesser extent.

Revenue from miscellaneous activities primarily included income from rentals, catering operations, cultural events and logistics services.

Income from foreign currency and hedging transactions as well as from the measurement of LTI options pertained to the foreign currency translation of receivables and payables as well as of currency derivatives and other hedging transactions. Of material significance in 2018 was income recorded from the release of provisions for the long-term incentive (LTI) program in the amount of €262 million (2017: income of €67 million).

Income from the translation of financial statements in foreign currencies contained gains from the translation of companies whose local currency is different from the functional currency.

Gains on divestitures and the disposal of noncurrent assets related in the amount of €21 million to the sale of the production site for styrene butadiene-based paper dispersions in Pischelsdorf, Austria in 2018 and in the amount of €195 million to the transfer of the leather chemicals business to the Stahl group in 2017. Income of €14 million resulted from real estate divestitures in several countries (2017: €72 million).

Reversals of impairment losses on noncurrent assets totaled €3 million in 2018 (2017: €24 million).

Income from the reversal of valuation allowances for business-related receivables resulted both from the reversal of valuation allowances for settled customer receivables for which a valuation allowance had been recorded previously as well as from adjusted expectations regarding default on individual customer receivables.

Other income included government grants and government assistance from several countries amounting to €43 million in 2018 and €26 million in 2017. These were primarily due to grants for research projects and regional business development in China.

Further income resulted from refunds and compensation payments in the amount of €569 million in 2018 and €447 million in 2017. In 2018, these mainly included insurance refunds for the damages caused by the fires at the citral plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany and at the North Harbor in Ludwigshafen, Germany, for which there were insurance refunds in 2017 as well. Moreover, income in both years was related to gains from precious metal trading, refunds of consumption taxes and a number of additional items.