BASF increases sales and earnings and is cautiously optimistic for 2014

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BASF SE

Fourth-quarter sales in the Functional Materials & Solutions segment decreased by 1% to €4.1 billion. Higher volumes were offset by negative currency effects. Healthy demand from the automotive industry led to the volume growth. EBIT before special items increased by €10 million to €238 million thanks to higher earnings in the Catalysts and Coatings divisions. For the full year, sales rose by 1% to almost €17.3 billion primarily due to higher volumes. EBIT before special items of about €1.1 billion was €138 million above the previous year.

Despite significant adverse currency effects, sales in the Agricultural Solutions segment increased by 1% to €890 million in the seasonally slow fourth quarter. The increase was driven by the acquisition of Becker Underwood as well as slightly higher volumes and prices. EBIT before special items doubled to €67 million due to higher margins and the acquisition of Becker Underwood. At €5.2 billion, sales in the full year grew by 12% compared with the previous year. EBIT before special items increased by €185 million to €1.2 billion primarily thanks to higher volumes and prices.

In the Oil & Gas segment, sales grew by 10% to €4.2 billion in the fourth quarter. This was mainly due to a higher contribution from the acquired assets in Norway and increased production volumes from Achimgaz as well as higher sales volumes in Natural Gas Trading. EBIT before special items grew by €128 million to €535 million. The Norwegian fields contributed to this considerable increase. Sales for the full year rose by 16% to around €14.8 billion mainly due to increased volumes. At almost €2.0 billion, EBIT before special items exceeded the previous year’s level by €93 million. Net income improved by €579 million to around €1.8 billion.

Sales in Other increased by 7% to €1.1 billion in the fourth quarter. The ELLBA joint ventures for styrene monomer and propylene oxide in Europe and Asia contributed strongly to sales growth. EBIT before special items declined by €47 million to minus €114 million. Full-year sales grew by 3% to €4.2 billion compared with the previous year. EBIT before special items improved to minus €618 million compared with minus €790 million in 2012.

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