BASF posts USD 18.3B in Q3 FY26 sales following higher product pricing

GERMANY – BASF has delivered €16.4B (USD 18.27 billion) in Q3 FY26 sales, up 14% year on year, driven mainly by a 12% increase in prices and 2% higher volumes. 

The sales growth was led by substantially higher prices in Chemicals, Materials, Surface Technologies, and Industrial Solutions, with Nutrition & Care recording a slight price increase and Agricultural Solutions a modest decline. 

Volumes rose strongly in Chemicals and Nutrition & Care and modestly in Industrial Solutions, Materials, and Surface Technologies, although lower volumes in Agricultural Solutions weighed on the overall result. 

Favourable currency effects, particularly from the U.S. dollar and Chinese renminbi, further supported sales.

EBITDA before special items increased by €213 million (USD 237.2 million) to €1.6 billion (USD 1.78billion), as stronger earnings in Chemicals, Nutrition & Care, Materials, and Industrial Solutions more than offset weaker results in Agricultural Solutions, Surface Technologies, and Other. 

The adjusted EBITDA margin remained at 10.0%.

Reported EBITDA was €1.2 billion (USD 1.34 billion), unchanged year on year, after absorbing minus €437 million (USD 486.7 million) in special items. 

These mainly reflected restructuring and transformation costs at Ludwigshafen and a legal-dispute settlement in Care Chemicals. 

EBIT was minus €98 million (USD 109.15 million), versus €232 million (USD 258.4 million) a year earlier, while depreciation and amortisation rose to €1.3 billion (USD 1.45 billion), including a €318 million (USD 354.16 million) impairment in Monomers.

Net income declined to €155 million (USD 172.63 million) from €172 million (USD 191.56 million), with earnings per share of €0.18 (USD 0.20). 

Operating cash flow fell €275 million (USD 306,3 million) to €1.1 billion (US 1.23 billion), largely because €507 million (USD 564.7 million) was tied up in inventories amid higher raw-material costs.

BASF now expects 2026 EBITDA before special items of €7.4 billion (USD 8.24 billion) to €7.8 billion (USD 8.69 billion), compared with its earlier range of €6.9 billion (USD 7.67 billion) to €7.7 billion(USD 8.58 billion).

The company maintained its macroeconomic assumptions, including 2.5% global GDP growth, 2.0% industrial production growth, 1.8% chemical production growth, a USD 1.17 per euro exchange rate, and USD 80 per barrel Brent crude. 

Its free cash flow guidance of €1.5 billion (USD 1.67 billion) to €2.3 billion (USD 2.56 billion) and CO2 emissions forecast of 17.2 million to 18.2 million metric tons remain unchanged.

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