BASF produces positive results
Germany-based BASF announced its financial results for 2004 on March 9, 2005, showing that the company has faced up to the challenges of the year to report increases in both sales and earnings.
BASF increased sales overall by 13% to €37.5 billion. Income from operations before special items rose significantly by 64% to €4.9 billion. Sales and earnings increased in all segments. Earnings were positive in all divisions. The performance of the chemicals segment was particularly strong, with sales rising by 22% and EBIT before special items by 167%.
For the first time for several years BASF again earned its cost of capital – plus a considerable premium of €1.8 billion. For a growing number of products it was possible to pass on price increases to the market that were deemed necessary due to significantly higher raw materials prices.
The company also continued to implement restructuring measures to improve its cost situation. All ongoing projects are proceeding successfully, and the goal is to achieve annual cost savings of approximately €750 million by the end of 2006.
Results for the fourth quarter were also positive. In the months October to December, demand for BASF’s products remained strong. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2003, the company increased sales in its Chemicals, Plastics, Performance Products and Oil & Gas segments, in some cases significantly. In the Agricultural Products & Nutrition segment, sales were almost at the previous year’s level. Overall, fourth-quarter sales rose slightly to €9.8 billion.
