The German chemical giant BASF has confirmed its annual forecast after cost-cutting measures offset a drop in revenue in the second quarter. Lower prices across all segments weighed on sales, but the company was able to achieve stable results thanks to savings.
In the second quarter, BASF reported sales of 16.11 billion euros, compared to 17.31 billion euros in the same period of the previous year. The decline was attributed to lower raw material and energy prices, which pressured sales.
The result before interest, taxes, depreciation, and special influences (EBITDA) – the company's preferred metric – increased by 0.6% to 1.957 billion euros. While the chemical business sectors made a stronger contribution to the result, there was a significant decline in the area of pesticides.
Analysts had expected a revenue of 16.74 billion euros and an EBITDA before special items of 2.05 billion euros, according to a consensus forecast by Vara Research.
BASF confirmed its annual forecast and aims for an EBITDA before special items between 8.0 billion and 8.6 billion euros. Free cash flow is expected to be between 0.1 billion and 0.6 billion euros due to temporarily higher investment expenditures.
The company announced that it is on track to achieve its annual cost-saving target of 2.1 billion euros by the end of 2026. Annual cost savings are expected to be around 800 million euros, with one-time costs amounting to approximately 550 million euros.
These measures and forecasts show that BASF remains on track despite market challenges and continues to focus on achieving its long-term financial goals.
