BASF Group’s sales in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 7% compared with the prior-year quarter to €16.8 billion. 

This was mainly driven by a 4% increase in volumes. 

Income from operations (EBIT) before special items was €1.6 billion, down by 6% compared with the first quarter of 2019. 

The decline in EBIT before special items was mainly attributable to significantly lower contributions from the Chemicals and Materials segments and Other.

“The first quarter of 2020 was not a normal quarter. The same will be true for the second quarter and likely for the entire year,” Dr. Martin Brudermüller, chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, said at the presentation of the results for the first quarter of 2020. “The coronavirus has turned the world upside down.” 

Owing to the very challenging macroeconomic environment, there is great uncertainty in the markets, making reliable planning nearly impossible at the moment. For this reason, concrete statements on the development of sales and earnings in 2020 cannot be made at present.

Advantages of BASF Group’s diversified portfolio

“BASF’s diversified portfolio offers advantages, especially in difficult times,” said Brudermüller. “Not all of our customer industries are equally affected by the pandemic. They show different degrees of resilience in this environment. For example, pharma, detergents and cleaners, or food. At the moment, they are even experiencing additional demand.” 

The transportation and automotive sector is seeing the strongest declines right now. 

Earnings development of BASF’s segments in the first quarter 2020

Compared with the prior-year quarter, EBIT before special items in the Chemicals and Materials segments declined by €246 million to a total of €383 million. 

Lower margins year on year in the ethylene and propylene value chain as well as for isocyanates and polyamide precursors had a considerable negative impact on earnings in these segments. 

Also, fixed costs were higher. In the Materials segment, considerable earnings growth in the Performance Materials division could only partially compensate for the decline in the Monomers division.

“Even in a difficult market environment, we saw considerable improvements in our downstream segments,” said Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel, BASF’s CFO. “EBIT before special items in these four segments increased in the first quarter of 2020 by 13% to €1.6 billion.”

In the Industrial Solutions segment, EBIT before special items increased by 3%t to €273 million. 

Here, the Dispersions & Pigments division posted significantly higher earnings, mainly as a result of lower fixed costs. 

BASF Group earnings development in the first quarter 2020

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, EBITDA before special items declined by 2% to €2.6 billion. 

EBITDA amounted to €2.4 billion, compared with €2.8 billion in the prior-year quarter. EBIT before special items was €1.6 billion, down by 6% compared with the first quarter of 2019. 

Special items in EBIT amounted to minus €184 million, compared with plus €29 million in the first quarter of 2019. Special charges were related mainly to the integration of the polyamide business acquired from Solvay. 

In the first quarter of 2019, income from divestitures led to net positive special items. EBIT, therefore, declined by 18% in the first quarter of 2020 to €1.5 billion.

The tax rate was 26.6%, compared with 25.3% in the prior-year quarter. Net income amounted to €885 million. This compared to €1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Consequently, earnings per share decreased to €0.96 in the first quarter of 2020, as compared to €1.53. Adjusted earnings per share were €1.36, compared with €1.70 in the prior-year quarter.

Development of cash flows in first quarter 2020

Cash flows from operating activities amounted to minus €1 billion, compared with €373 million in the prior-year quarter. Alongside the considerable decline in net income, this was primarily attributable to the €1.2 billion increase in cash tied up in net working capital.

Cash flows from investing activities amounted to minus €1.8 billion, around €1 billion below the figure for the prior-year quarter. This was mainly attributable to the payment of the purchase price for the polyamide business acquired from Solvay. 

By contrast, payments made for intangible assets and property, plant and equipment were €172 million lower year on year.

The significant increase in cash flows from financing activities, from €620 million in the first quarter of 2019 to €4.3 billion, was primarily due to the creation of additional liquidity as a precautionary measure.

Free cash flow declined from minus €368 million in the prior-year quarter to minus €1.6 billion as a result of lower cash flows from operating activities.

BASF Group outlook for 2020

The sales and earnings forecast for the 2020 business year provided by BASF on Feb. 28, 2020, will not be able to be met. The company is, therefore, withdrawing its outlook for 2020. It is currently impossible to reliably estimate both the length and the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as future measures to contain it. Consequently, concrete statements on the future development of sales and earnings cannot be made at present.

BASF expects to be severely impacted by the economic consequences of the global weakness in demand and drop in production, in particular as a result of the ongoing production stoppages in the automotive industry.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic will also impact other customer industries. As a result, the company anticipates a considerable decline in sales volumes in the second quarter of 2020. BASF currently expects a slow recovery for the third and fourth quarters of 2020; how the situation develops is, however, extremely uncertain and not predictable at this point in time.

BASF will quantify its expectations for the future development of sales and earnings as soon as it is again possible to make a reliable forecast.

Under these circumstances, the members of BASF’s Supervisory Board have decided to forego 20% of their fixed compensation from April 1 until the end of 2020. 

Members of BASF’s Board of Executive Directors will voluntarily waive 20% of their fixed salaries for the second quarter of 2020. Depending on how things develop over the year, further steps will be considered.