Confirms FY guidance (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Berlin, 26 Jul - German chemicals group BASF said its second-quarter sales fell 6.9% to 16.11 billion euros from 17.3 billion the prior year driven by lower prices, especially in Surface Solutions that saw a 23.4% slump sales.

Agricultural Solutions sales fell 13.2%, Materials dropped 5.3%, and Nutrition & Care 2.7%, while Chemicals saw a 6% increase and Industrial Solutions a 4.8% rise.

There were negative currency effects and minor portfolio effects that contributed to the decline in sales. Slightly higher volumes had a positive impact on sales. Volume growth in the Industrial Solutions, Chemicals, Nutrition & Care and Materials segments more than compensated for the lower volumes in the Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions segments.

EBITDA amounted to 1.6 billion euros from 1.9 billion in the prior-year period and included 394 million of negative special charges mainly from expenses for the out-of-court settlement, which does not constitute any admission of liability, in connection with the Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) multidistrict litigation in the US and from restructuring measures.

EBITDA before special items rose 0.6% to 1.957 billion euros thanks to the considerable increase in earnings in the Industrial Solutions, Chemicals and Nutrition & Care segments, mainly the result of a higher contribution margin.

This contrasted with a considerable decline in earnings in the Agricultural Solutions segment, mainly due to a decrease in volumes and lower prices for glufosinate-ammonium.

EBITDA before special items decreased slightly in the Materials and Surface Technologies segments.

Earnings per share amounted to 0.48 in the second quarter of 2024 from 0.56.

BASF confirmed its full year guidance of EBITDA before special items of between 8.0-8.6 billion euros and a free cash flow of between 0.1-0.6 billion.

AAA-Sch

(RADIOCOR) 26-07-24 07:58:32 (0085) 5 NNNN