BASF 2024 Sales Decline to 65.3 Billion Euros

BASF Group recently released preliminary financial data for 2024, forecasting sales to reach 65.3 billion euros, down from 68.9 billion euros in 2023. Despite a slight increase in volume, the company has experienced a decline in sales prices, impacting overall revenue. Additionally, currency fluctuations have negatively affected sales figures.

Excluding special items, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) for 2024 is anticipated to be 7.9 billion euros, aligning with analysts' expectations but lower than BASF's previous forecast range of 8 to 8.6 billion euros. This figure indicates that the growth in earnings is primarily driven by the performance of core businesses, particularly boosted by increased sales volumes. However, there are concerns as the chemical segment showed a significant decline in profitability during Q4 2024, with EBITDA only slightly above the low point of Q4 2023.

On the cash flow front, BASF expects operating cash flow for 2024 to be 6.9 billion euros, down from 8.1 billion euros in 2023. Free cash flow is projected to be 700 million euros, significantly exceeding analysts' average estimate of 400 million euros and surpassing BASF's own forecast range. While expenditures on real estate, facilities, and intangible assets have increased, they remain below expectations. Free cash flow for 2023 was 2.7 billion euros.

In terms of Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), BASF forecasts EBIT of 2 billion euros for 2024, below the consensus expectation from analysts of 3.2 billion euros and down from 2.2 billion euros in 2023. The deviation from analyst consensus is primarily attributed to non-cash impairment losses and increased restructuring costs. The company has made good progress on the announced restructuring measures, with significant portions of spending reflected in special items.

BASF’s net income has also been affected by these special expenses, and the company is currently unable to provide a specific net income figure due to the lack of contributions from a significant equity-accounted non-core business. While analysts expect net income to be around 2.2 billion euros, BASF believes achieving this target may be challenging. Nevertheless, net income for 2024 is expected to far exceed the 225 million euros recorded in 2023.

The full financial data for BASF Group for 2024 will be released on February 28, 2025, providing a more comprehensive analysis of the company's financial performance.