1. BASF Group's EBIT before special items in line with analysts' consensus in 3Q 2023; outlook for 2023 unchanged
- Subjects
BASF Group -- Forecasts and trends ,Pesticides industry -- Forecasts and trends ,Herbicides -- Forecasts and trends ,Chemical industry -- Forecasts and trends ,Market trend/market analysis ,Business ,Chemicals, plastics and rubber industries - Abstract
BASF Group's sales in the 3Q 2023 amounted to EUR 15.7 bn, down by EUR 6.2 bn compared with the prior-year period. Compared with the prior-year quarter, income from operations (EBIT) before special items declined by EUR 772 M to EUR 575 M. Special items in EBIT amounted to minus EUR 181 M in the 3Q 2023, mainly due to restructuring measures. At EUR 394 M, EBIT was considerably below the prior-year quarter (EUR 1.3 bn). Compared with the 3Q 2022, income from operations before depreciation, amortization and special items (EBITDA before special items) decreased by EUR 780 M to EUR 1.5 bn and EBITDA declined by EUR 892 M to EUR 1.4 bn. Net income amounted to minus EUR 249 M, compared with EUR 909 M in the prior-year quarter. Besides the lower EBIT, this decline was driven by the overall negative earnings of Wintershall Dea due to special items. Total assets amounted to EUR 82.6 bn as of 30 Sep 2023, EUR 1.9 bn below the 2022 year-end figure. On 30 Sep 2023, net debt amounted to EUR 18.9 bn. This was an increase of EUR 2.6 bn compared with year-end 2022, but a decrease of EUR 1.4 bn compared with 30 Jun 2023. The equity ratio at the end of the 3Q 2023 was slightly higher than at the end of the year 2022 and stood at 48.8%. Cash flows from operating activities were EUR 2.7 bn in the 3Q 2023, above the EUR 2.3 bn reported in the prior-year quarter. Cash released from net working capital improved considerably by EUR 1.2 bn compared with the 3Q 2022, amounting to EUR 1.9 bn. The improvement was primarily due to the reduction in inventories. Free cash flow totalled EUR 1.5 bn in the 3Q 2023, after EUR 1.3 bn in the prior-year period. BASF now expects annual cost savings in non-production areas to reach more than EUR 600 M by the end of 2024 and more than EUR 700 M by the end of 2026. This includes measures related to Europe in the Global Business Services and Global Digital Services units. Additional measures in these two service units in other regions will contribute a further EUR 200 M. The BASF Group's forecast for the 2023 business year published in the Half-Year Financial Report 2023 also remains unchanged: Sales of between EUR 73 bn and EUR 76 bn; EBIT before special items of between EUR 4.0 bn and EUR 4.4 bn; Return on capital employed (ROCE) of between 6.5% and 7.1% ; CO2 emissions of between 17.0 M tonnes and 17.6 M tonnes. Original source: BASF, website: http://www.basf.com/, Copyright BASF 2023., company results; company structure; waste emissions and pollution; carbon dioxide; BASF [...]
- Published
- 2023