BASF has flagged that 2026 adjusted operating income could slip or rise only slightly in difficult markets, missing market expectations and prompting the chemicals giant to step up cost-saving efforts.
BASF said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, could reach €6.2 billion to €7 billion this year, compared with €6.6 billion in 2025.
The upper end slightly missed average analyst expectations of €7.02 billion, according to a consensus on the group's website.
"The start to the first quarter has been as challenging as expected," said CEO Markus Kamieth, at the helm for almost two years.
Kamieth cited weak sales volumes in January, with the exception of China, where results were inflated by the timing of New Year celebrations.
First-quarter currency headwinds are likely to be €200m, hurt by a weaker US dollar.
He added that the group now seeks to cut annual costs by €2.3 billion by the end of this year, up from €2.1 billion targeted before. BASF had previously indicated it was speeding up its restructuring programme.
Among turnaround efforts, Kamieth is planning to exit or separate divisions, such as the agriculture business, that are not closely integrated into its large chemical plants across the globe.
BASF, which published preliminary 2025 results last month, said today that full-year net income was boosted by about €900m in compensation under German state guarantees for energy businesses in Russia over which it had lost control.
BASF stands to receive almost €800m more in government reimbursement during the first half, it added.
BASF previously wrote off the Russian assets of its former energy business Wintershall Dea because they were effectively seized by authorities there.
