BASF agchem sales down 6% in Q3 2017

BASF sales in the Agricultural Solutions segment were down 6% in the third quarter of 2017, at €987 million. This was mainly the result of declining prices and volumes in Brazil. Negative currency effects put additional pressure on sales development. BASF was able to slightly increase overall volumes. EBIT before special items decreased by €76 million to €21 million. This was primarily due to the difficult market situation in Brazil. Earnings were also negatively impacted by the shutdowns of the production facilities in Beaumont, Texas, and Manatí, Puerto Rico, because of the hurricanes. Fixed costs were on a level with the prior-year quarter.

Regional sales

Sales rose considerably in Europe. This was mainly due to higher herbicide and fungicide volumes, particularly in central and eastern Europe.  Sales in North America were up slightly on the prior-year quarter. BASF increased herbicide volumes with its innovation Engenia® and fungicide volumes with Xemium®.  Negative currency effects slowed sales growth.

Business in the region South America, Africa, Middle East continued to be dominated by the difficult situation in Brazil; sales decreased considerably. With the market environment deteriorating, farmers’ economic situation remained strained and competitive pressure was high. This pushed down prices and sales volumes, especially of fungicides and insecticides. Negative currency effects also contributed to the decline in sales.  The company increased sales considerably in Asia, mainly due to volumes growth with fungicide innovations in India as well as higher volumes in South Korea and Southeast Asia.