BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s BASF posted a drop in first-quarter adjusted earnings and sales on Thursday, giving the chemical maker’s new CEO room for improvement as he takes the reins.
BASF said quarterly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, fell 5.3% to 2.7 billion euros ($2.89 billion), hit in part by higher bonus provisions and declines in the agrochemicals, surface treatment and catalyst businesses.
However, the results came in above the analysts’ average estimate of 2.57 billion, according to a consensus posted on the company’s website.
Sales also fell by about 12% to 17.6 billion euros in the first quarter, as BASF felt the effect of lower prices in almost all segments, missing analysts’ forecasts of 18.6 billion euros.
Outgoing CEO Martin Brudermueller confirmed BASF’s previous adjusted earnings forecast of 8 billion-8.6 billion euros for 2024, ahead of the Annual General Meeting in Mannheim.
Brudermueller will answer questions for the last time in front of around 5,000 shareholders before Markus Kamieth, the group’s former head of Asia, takes the helm.
The company is currently near the bottom of its downcycle, and Brudermueller has expressed hope the worst is behind them.
BASF is also in the midst of a major structural overhaul, making businesses such as battery chemicals and agricultural pesticides more independent.
The company has agreed to the sale of its energy business and it continues to invest in China despite political tensions with the West, as growth in its European home market is falling behind other regions.
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(Reporting by Patricia Weiss, Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)