BASF Group says that its full year 2020 sales were ‘almost stable’ at €59.1 billion, with negative currency and volume effects nearly offset by higher prices and positive portfolio effects. EBIT decreased from €4.2 billion in 2019 to minus €191 million in 2020.
Due to the effects of the pandemic, all segments except Industrial Solutions posted lower earnings, with a sharp drop in demand from the automotive industry especially reducing earnings development in Surface Technologies, the company said.
However, Q42020 sales increased by 8% to €15.9 billion, with volumes up by 7%. Prices also increased by 7%, driven mainly by the company’s surface technologies, agricultural solutions and materials segments, according to BASF.
BASF predicts ‘significant growth’ globally in 2021, up 4.3% compared with 2020, and plans to increase its sales to between €61 billion and €64 billion.
‘BASF expects the global economy to recover in 2021 after the sharp downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic,’ a press release said. ‘However, uncertainty about future developments remains exceptionally high. The company’s forecast therefore includes wide ranges to account for the risk of renewed significant disruptions to global supply chains and the associated negative effects on the entire economy.’
This story uses material from BASF, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
