German chemical manufacturer BASF wants to make itself more profitable again by splitting off several businesses from the group and transforming them into legally independent subsidiaries. “Ultimately, it’s about improving performance, being closer to the customer and competing even more fiercely,” chief financial officer Dirk Elvermann told dpa. A growth business has to be managed differently than a business that is essentially focussed on returns, he said. BASF is achieving this with a new structure. “In these businesses, we are focussing even more strongly on entrepreneurial performance in …