BASF: withdraws outlook as it braces for corona crisis

(CercleFinance.com) - BASF said that its first-quarter results have showed "resilience" amid the corona crisis, thanks to the group's diversified portfolio.


But the German chemical company is withdrawing its outlook for 2020, saying that it has become impossible to reliably estimate the duration and spread of the pandemic.

BASF warned it expects to be "severely impacted" by the economic consequences of the global weakness in demand and drop in production, in particular by the ongoing production stoppages in the auto industry.

The world's largest chemical company by sales said that profit from operations (EBIT) before special items fell to 1.6 billion euros in the first three months of the year, down 6% from the first quarter of 2019.

Quarterly sales, however, increased by 7% to 16.8 billion euros, the group added.

BASF shares were down 1.7% on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after this report.

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