BASF operating profit slips on forex effects, pressure from rivals (updated)

BASF SE

30/04/2026 06:13

BASF to raise prices amid industry bottlenecks, CFO says

Company maintains 2026 EBITDA outlook despite Iran war

Q1 operating profit down 5.6% but higher than consensus

Recasts, adds details on guidance, shares in paragraphs 3-7

FRANKFURT, April 30 (Reuters) - Germany's BASF BASFn.DE said on Thursday that the Iran war's fallout was too unpredictable to change the global industrial chemicals company's earnings projections, and that its secure supplies through June would even give it a competitive edge.

 The Ludwigshafen-based group, which like its rivals depends on economic growth to drive earnings, said the Iran war - though hitting business sentiment and disrupting energy and materials markets - was also offering opportunities.

Finance chief Dirk Elvermann told analysts in a call that at least until end-June, prescient stockpiling ensured the group's deliveries were secure despite market disruptions, allowing it to leverage its pricing power.

"The physical product supply is secured also for the second quarter. We also have the possibility to play our long value chains. And this together with the closeness and proximity to our customers is really paying off," the CFO said.

     He confirmed reports that supply bottlenecks in the wider industry were for now limited to Asia, though not a major problem for BASF's sites there.

The group reaffirmed its 2026 outlook for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to reach 6.2 billion to 7.0 billion euros, compared with 6.6 billion euros in 2025 and average analyst expectations of 6.82 billion euros ($7.97 billion).

BASF shares were down 0.1% at 0725 GMT. Despite initial losses since U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran started at the end of February, the stock has been up by about 10% over that time.

BASF was also still projecting an average oil price of $65 per barrel of Brent crude in 2026, unchanged from its February assumptions and little over half of current levels.

Again, it said the uncertainty kept it from making changes, citing only vague trends.

"The assumptions made in February regarding growth in global GDP, industrial production and chemical production may prove to be too optimistic. The oil price may be higher than our existing assumption," it said.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 jumped over 6% on Thursday to a four-year high of $125 a barrel following a report that the U.S. is considering additional military action against Iran.

First-quarter EBITDA, adjusted for special items, declined 5.6% to 2.36 billion euros, but surpassed an average analyst forecast of 2.19 billion euros.

Last month, BASF underscored the need for a 9 billion euro investment in China, the single largest expansion project in the company's 161-year history, even as global markets cooled down.

BASF has struggled particularly in its home market - where it cut costs and shuttered production lines - and where the business cycle shows no sign of turning a corner.

Last week, the German government cut its growth forecasts for 2026 and 2027 and raised its inflation projections, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran drives up oil and gas prices.

($1 = 0.8578 euros)

($1 = 0.8552 euros)

 (Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss, Editing by Friederike Heine, Thomas Derpinghaus and Tomasz Janowski)

 ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; ))