BASF Books $3.3 Billion Writedown on Aviation and Auto Slump
BASF Books $3.3 Billion Writedown on Aviation and Auto Slump
(Bloomberg) -- BASF SE expects to book 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in writedowns largely driven by the aviation and automotive industries being slammed by the pandemic and hurting demand for its chemicals.
The impairments will drag BASF to a third-quarter loss of 2.64 billion euros before interest and taxes, a worse result than analysts expected, the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based company said in a statement Friday.
The preliminary results send a troubling signal to those looking for signs of an industrial recovery. In addition to seeing weaker demand for coatings, the world’s largest chemical maker also suffered from continued oversupply in basic chemicals that weighed on prices.
Shares of the maker of lubricant additives, cosmetic ingredients and plastics dropped 2.6% as of 2:43 p.m. in Frankfurt.
BASF is predicting an improvement in the final three months of 2020. For the full year, it’s forecasting at least 57 billion euros in sales and 3 billion euros of Ebit.
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