For 2022, BASF expects sales to fall to between 74 and 77 billion euros.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt The increased energy prices are causing problems for BASF. After a strong increase in sales and earnings last year, the world’s largest chemical company is preparing for a decline in 2022. “We started the year very strongly and in January 2022 achieved good figures above those of the same month last year,” said CEO Martin Brudermüller on Friday with a view to the current year. However, global economic growth should weaken. There are also supply chain problems and rising energy costs.
“We will implement further significant price increases in the coming months in order to pass on the significantly increased costs and to improve our margins in the downstream businesses again,” announced Brudermüller.
For the European BASF sites, the additional costs due to the further rise in natural gas prices amounted to 800 million euros in the fourth quarter alone, and for the year as a whole they were around 1.5 billion euros. For 2022, BASF expects sales to fall to EUR 74 to 77 billion, adjusted operating profit is likely to fall to EUR 6.6 to 7.2 billion.
Last year, thanks to increased demand and significantly higher prices, sales climbed by 33 percent to 78.6 billion euros. Adjusted earnings jumped to 7.8 billion euros from 3.56 billion a year earlier.
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BASF closed the fourth quarter with an increase in earnings of ten percent to 1.2 billion euros. Analysts had expected an average of 1.35 billion euros but more. The bottom line for the year as a whole was a profit of 5.5 billion euros after a loss of a good one billion in the previous year. Shareholders are to receive a dividend of EUR 3.40 per share, which is ten cents higher for 2021.
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