Berlin: German chemical giant BASF reported ebbing second quarter revenues and a plunge in underlying profit, as trade conflicts hit key client industries like cars and farming. Operating, or underlying profit at the group excluding special items fell 47 per cent year-on-year to one billion euros ($1.1 billion), BASF said in a statement.
Sales fell four per cent to 15.2 billion euros, in line with expectations from analysts surveyed by Factset.
Regarding trade tensions, especially between the US and China, “we followed the general assessment that a solution would be found by the middle of the year. But now it seems the situation will not ease for some time,” chief executive Martin Brudermueller said.
That meant that “growth in BASF’s customer industries in the first half of the year was significantly below expectations,” the group said, pointing especially to the car industry. Automakers saw a six per cent worldwide slump in production in the first six months, BASF found, and 13 per cent in vital market China. — AFP
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