Ludwigshafen, Germany — BASF recorded total group sales of EUR 31.3 bn the first half of 2019 almost identical to the same period in 2018. EBITDA was down 22% at EUR 4.42bn in the first half of 2019.
BASF flat sales despite poor materials performance in H1 2019
Hans-Ulrich Engel. Copyright by BASF.
Sales in the company's Materials Division fell by 15.4% in the first half of 2019. The fall in sales in the Performance Materials division, which houses systems and applications sales was 7.44%. Performance Materials had sales of EUR 3.1bn in the first half of 2019 and EUR 3.36bn in the 2018 period.
EBITDA for the Materials Division was down 37.8% at EUR 986m in the first half of 2019. In the same period last year EBITDA was EUR1.87bn.
Hans-Ulrich Engel, CFO said: lower volumes and margins in the Chemicals and Materials segments hit the business in the first half. 'In total, the two segments accounted for 83% of the overall earnings decline in the second quarter of 2019,' Engel said.
Martin Brudermuller CEO added: 'global economic risks have increased significantly during recent months. There is high uncertainty, low visibility and poor predictability,
He continued: 'This has been driven by geopolitical developments and the ongoing trade conflicts between the United States and its trading partners. These conflicts will not be resolved in the near future. They are causing a noticeable slowdown in macroeconomic growth around the world, particularly in China,' he concluded.
