BASF Group’s EBITDA before special items (income from operations before depreciation, amortization and special items) increased in the full year 2024 to €7.9 billion.

“We performed well thanks to the strong performance of our core businesses, which increased their EBITDA before special items by 18 percent compared with 2023,” said Dr. Markus Kamieth, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE, when presenting the financial figures for 2024 together with Chief Financial Officer Dr. Dirk Elvermann.

Overall, there was a 2 percent rise in EBITDA before special items of the BASF Group. In the core businesses, EBITDA before special items grew considerably, mainly because of higher volumes. This was partly offset by earnings declines in the standalone businesses.

In the 2024 business year, sales stood at €65.3 billion, compared with €68.9 billion in the previous year. Considerable volume increases in the core businesses, coupled with slight volume growth in Agricultural Solutions, more than compensated for the decrease in sales volumes in Surface Technologies, which was due to the weak momentum in the automotive industry. The overall decline in sales, however, was mainly due to competition-driven price decreases in all segments.

“We are well on track to achieve the targeted €2.1 billion annual cost savings by the end of 2026,” said Elvermann, commenting on the progress in implementing the cost savings programs.

“By the end of 2024, we already achieved a total annual cost reduction run rate of around €1 billion, of which around €100 million is related to the Ludwigshafen Cost Improvement Program announced in February 2024.”

BASF incurred cumulative one-time costs of approximately €900 million related to the implementation of the cost savings programs by year-end 2024. This amount is about half of the total one-time costs BASF anticipates by the end of 2026. By then, the company aims to have concluded all programs and will benefit from the full amount of savings on an annual basis.

In 2025, the BASF Group’s EBITDA before special items is expected to increase to between €8.0 billion and €8.4 billion (2024: €7.9 billion). All segments, with the exception of Chemicals, are likely to contribute to the increase in earnings. In particular, earnings in the Petrochemicals division will be impacted by rising fixed costs in connection with the startup of the new Verbund site in China and scheduled turnarounds.

The company forecasts the BASF Group’s free cash flow to be between €0.4 billion and €0.8 billion (2024: €0.7 billion). This is based on expected cash flows from operating activities of between €5.6 billion and €6.0 billion, minus expected payments made for property, plant and equipment and intangible assets in the amount of €5.2 billion.