According to the BASF Group, sales for the full year 2023 are expected to amount to €68.9 billion. This figure is below BASF's forecast range of €73 billion to €76 billion and below analysts' average estimates for 2023. Sales in the previous year 2022 amounted to €87.3 billion. Income from operations (EBIT) before special items in 2023 is expected to be €3.8 billion, below BASF's forecast range of €4 billion to €4.4 billion and below the level of the average analyst estimates for 2023.
The operating result before special items in 2022 amounted to almost 6.9 billion euros. The year-on-year decline is the result of lower margins due to lower sales, which could not be offset by the reduction in fixed costs achieved. The average analyst estimates for EBIT before special items in the segments will be slightly exceeded by Industrial Solutions, Materials and Agricultural Solutions in 2023. In the Chemicals segment, the operating result before special items in 2023 will be significantly below the average analyst estimates, partly due to unplanned plant shutdowns at BASF.
BASF Group EBIT in 2023 is expected to be €2.24 billion, below analysts' consensus for 2023 and below the previous year's figure. In the previous year, the chemical company posted more than €6.5 billion here. This was mainly due to non-cash impairments of €1.1 billion. These mainly relate to the Surface Technologies, Agricultural Solutions and Materials segments.
Earnings after taxes and non-controlling interests of the BASF Group are expected to amount to €225 million in 2023. This is an improvement of €852 million compared to the previous year. In 2022, the chemical company recorded a loss of €627 million, which included non-cash impairments on assets related to Russia of Wintershall Dea amounting to €6.5 billion. BASF will announce the final results in the Annual Report 2023 on February 23, 2024.
