Ink World staff07.10.20
BASF has released preliminary figures on business development in the second quarter of 2020.
Sales declined by 12.4% in the second quarter of 2020 to €12,680 million (Q2 2019: €14,478 million).
EBIT before special items, which reflects the development of the BASF Group’s operating business in the second quarter of 2020, amounted to an expected €226 million, above market expectations and in the range indicated by BASF, but considerably below the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q2 2019: €995 million).
The decline in EBIT before special items is the result of significantly lower earnings in the Materials, Surface Technologies, Chemicals and Industrial Solutions segments compared with the prior-year quarter. This was mainly driven by lower demand from the automotive industry – the company’s most important customer industry.
The BASF Group’s EBIT in the second quarter of 2020 amounted to an expected €59 million, considerably below the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q2 2019: €507 million).
The BASF Group’s net income is expected to amount to minus €878 million due to a non-cash-effective impairment of the shareholding in Wintershall Dea, considerably below current analyst estimates and the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q2 2019: €5,954 million).
The impairment of around €800 million is the result of lower oil and gas price forecasts and changed reserve estimates. In the prior-year quarter, net income included a book gain of €5,684 million on the deconsolidation of Wintershall following the merger of Wintershall and DEA as of May 1, 2019.
