In the first half of 2012, sales were €40.1 billion, 6% more than in the same period of the previous year. At over €5 billion, EBIT before special items matched the level of the first half of 2011.
At the presentation of the company’s second-quarter results, Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, commented on the growing economic risks: “Our customers are continuing to act cautiously and are reducing their inventories, also in expectation of falling prices due to declining raw material costs.”
In addition, the Chinese growth engine has started to stall leading to a decrease in BASF’s sales in local-currency terms in Asia in the second quarter, as they also did in the first quarter of 2012, explained Bock.
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BASF