Ludwigshafen, Germany – January 24, 2025 – BASF Group today announced preliminary financial figures for the full year 2024, reporting a steady performance amidst a challenging market environment.
BASF’s sales for the year are expected to total €65.3 billion, a decline from 2023’s €68.9 billion, reflecting both price reductions and negative currency effects. However, volumes showed a slight increase, with a gradual price recovery observed throughout 2024 compared to the previous year.
The company’s income from operations before depreciation, amortization, and special items (EBITDA before special items) for 2024 stood at €7.9 billion. This represents a slight increase from €7.7 billion in 2023, primarily driven by higher earnings in the core business areas, particularly in the Agricultural Solutions segment. However, the Chemicals segment saw a significant decline in earnings in the final quarter of 2024, marking a decrease compared to the same period in 2023.
Cash flows from operating activities are expected to be within the anticipated range, totaling €6.9 billion for 2024, compared to €8.1 billion in 2023. Free cash flow exceeded expectations at €0.7 billion, well above the analysts’ estimate of €0.4 billion and BASF’s forecast range of €0.1 billion to €0.6 billion. Payments for property, plant, and equipment, as well as intangible assets, rose but were lower than expected, resulting in a decrease from €2.7 billion in free cash flow in 2023.
EBIT for BASF Group in 2024 is projected at €2.0 billion, falling below analyst consensus (€3.2 billion) and last year’s figure (€2.2 billion). The variance is mainly due to non-cash-effective impairments on battery materials within the Surface Technologies segment and restructuring costs across all business segments. The company has made substantial progress with its restructuring initiatives, which are a significant contributor to the special items.
As a result of these special charges, net income for 2024 is expected to fall short of the analyst consensus of €2.2 billion, though it will exceed 2023’s €225 million.
Source: BASF
