(BASF) -- Following a strong start to
the year, BASF had a good and very solid second quarter. Sales improved by 13.9%
to EUR 18.5 billion and income from operations (EBIT) before special items by
1.4% to EUR 2.2 billion despite the suspension of oil production in Libya. In
the second quarter of 2010, the Libyan activities contributed an EBIT before
special items of EUR 280 million. On a comparable basis, EBIT before special
items thus increased by 16%.
Compared with the extraordinary
growth in the first quarter, the growth rates have normalized in the second
quarter as expected. In addition, for the first time since the first quarter of
2010 currency effects were negative (minus 6%) due to the weak U.S. dollar. The
inclusion of the Cognis businesses made a positive contribution to sales. In the
chemicals business, sales volumes increased 5%. Due to the suspension of oil
production in Libya, the contribution to earnings before taxes from Oil &
Gas was lower compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
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