BASF’s Agricultural Solutions business saw a 13% decline in sales in the second quarter, citing a market environment that remains difficult.
The company said sales fell to €1.5 billion compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Chief Financial Officer Hans-Ulrich Engel said that lower volumes and negative currency effects were the key factors for this development. “We were able to slightly raise prices,” he said on a conference call.
El EBIT antes de extraordinarios se redujo en 45 millones de euros hasta los 320 millones de euros, debido principalmente a menores volúmenes de ventas. En el primer semestre, las ventas se redujeron en 9% hasta los 3.200 millones de euros. El EBIT antes de extraordinarios descendió 28 millones de euros hasta los 911 millones de euros.
Speaking about the company as a whole, Chairman Kurt Bock said, “The macroeconomic situation remains difficult to predict. In particular, the UK’s recent Brexit decision has added to the overall economic uncertainty and market volatility. More recently, the situation in Turkey contributed to this.” Bock added: “Brazil is still in a recession, but it appears to be leveling off. In Asia, we saw an upward trend since the second half of March and an overall improvement compared to the second half of 2015. Growth in China remained below the high levels of previous years, but was slightly higher than we had expected at the beginning of the year.”