German chemical giant BASF has raised its full-year core earnings forecast after posting a 14% year-on-year increase in third-quarter sales, according to Chinese automotive news outlet D1EV, which cited a report from Gasgoo.
The company said sales reached €16.4 billion in the July-September period, up from €14.3 billion a year earlier. The growth was driven primarily by a 12% average price increase, while sales volumes rose a modest 2%.
Segment performance varied: chemicals, materials, surface technologies and industrial solutions saw the strongest price gains, while nutrition and care prices rose moderately and agricultural solutions prices edged lower. On the volume side, chemicals and nutrition and care grew notably, while agricultural solutions saw a significant decline that weighed on overall sales. Currency fluctuations, particularly the dollar and the yuan, had a positive effect across segments.
Earnings and one-off items
Core EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, excluding special items) rose 15% to €1.6 billion, with a margin of 10.0%, unchanged from a year earlier. Gains in chemicals, nutrition and care, materials and industrial solutions offset declines in agricultural solutions and surface technologies.
Including special items, EBITDA was €1.2 billion, flat year on year. Special items totaled minus €437 million, mainly due to restructuring costs at its Ludwigshafen site and a legal settlement in its care chemicals business. EBIT swung to a loss of €98 million from a profit of €232 million a year earlier, as depreciation and amortization rose to €1.3 billion, including a €318 million impairment in the monomers business.
Net income came in at €155 million, slightly below the €172 million reported a year earlier, with earnings per share of €0.18 versus €0.19. Adjusted earnings per share, excluding special items and amortization of intangible assets, rose to €0.72 from €0.52.
Cash flow and outlook
Operating cash flow fell by €275 million to €1.1 billion, mainly because higher raw material prices tied up €507 million in inventory, compared with a €6 million cash release from inventories a year earlier. Investing cash flow improved to minus €89 million from minus €767 million, helped by €434 million from the sale of Harbour Energy shares and a €401 million reduction in capital expenditure, largely related to lower spending at its Zhanjiang integrated site in China. Free cash flow rose to €523 million from €398 million.
Based on the first nine months, BASF now expects full-year core EBITDA of €7.4 billion to €7.8 billion, up from a previous range of €6.9 billion to €7.7 billion. It maintained its free cash flow guidance of €1.5 billion to €2.3 billion and its CO2 emissions target of 17.2 million to 18.2 million tonnes.
