BASF's 2005 financial figures break records

27 February 2006 00:00  [Source: ICB]

BASF achieved record sales of €42.75bn in 2005, up 14% over 2004, and saw earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) climb 17% to €6.14bn. And, said chairman Jurgen Hambrecht, the company increased the premium earned on cost of capital to just under €2.4bn, from €1.8bn in 2004.

BASF achieved sales growth in all regions, with Asia seeing best performance at 23%. But even Europe saw sales advance by 11%, due to good performance in oil & gas and plastics.

However, Ebit declined slightly in South America, Africa and the Middle East, due mainly to adverse conditions for agricultural products in Brazil and Argentina and fell more significantly in Asia, by 18%, due to the difficult market for intermediates and high and volatile prices for styrenic raw materials.

Hambrecht expects 2006 to be another strong year for BASF. ‘Our outlook is very confident: our business has continued to develop successfully since the beginning of 2006 and the level of orders remains strong.’

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