BASF Group increases sales in first quarter

BASF has seen an increase in sales of by three per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2019, rising to €16.2 billion.

Compared with the first quarter of 2018, EBIT before special items declined by €549 million to €1.7 billion.

Dr Martin Brudermüller, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and BASF, said: “As expected, this is primarily due to the considerably lower contributions from the Materials and Chemicals segments.”

“In these segments, we had exceptionally high isocyanates margins and strong cracker margins in the first quarter of the previous year.”  

Global economic growth in the first quarter of 2019 was shaped by geopolitical developments and trade conflicts, especially between the United States and China.

The generally subdued market sentiment was reflected in the wait-and-see attitude of many customers.

Consequently, BASF Group experienced weakening demand from key customer industries, especially the automotive sector.