According to the quarterly report released by BASF Group on April 29, sales in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 3.7 billion euros compared with the first quarter of last year, reaching 23.1 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 19%. The increase in sales was mainly driven by higher prices, especially in the Chemicals and Materials businesses. Favorable currency factors in each business area also contributed to the sales performance. A slight decrease in overall sales was partially offset. Higher volumes in the Agricultural Solutions, Industrial Solutions, Materials, Nutrition & Care and Chemicals business areas were not able to fully offset the decline in the Surface Technology business areas.
EBIT before special items was EUR 2.8 billion, an increase of EUR 497 million, mainly due to significant earnings growth in the Chemicals segment. EBIT before special items also increased significantly in the Industrial Solutions, Materials and Nutrition & Care business areas. EBIT before special items in the Agricultural Solutions business area improved slightly. Earnings before interest and tax excluding special items in the surface treatment technology business area decreased significantly, mainly due to the impact of the decline in market demand in the automotive industry.
EBIT increased by EUR 474 million compared to the same period in the first quarter of 2021 to EUR 2.8 billion. Net income was 1.2 billion euros, compared with 1.7 billion euros in the same period last year. This was due to an impairment charge recognised by Wintershall Dea, for which BASF included a special charge of around EUR 1.1 billion in its net income proportional to its shareholding (72.7%). In addition to the Nord Stream 2 loan, these impairments also relate to assets located in Russia and assets of the gas transportation business.
Cash flow from operating activities was negative 290 million euros, an increase of 235 million euros compared to the same period last year. Although the proportion of cash used in net working capital has increased due to the increase in input costs and the sharp increase in sales, the improvement in operating performance is still the main reason for the increase in cash flow. Free cash flow improved by EUR 88 million to a negative EUR 893 million.
The BASF Group's forecast for sales and earnings for fiscal 2022 remains unchanged, with sales expected to be between EUR 74 billion and EUR 77 billion, and EBIT before special items between EUR 6.6 billion and EUR 7.2 billion. Return on capital employed (ROCE) is expected to be between 11.4% and 12.6%, with full-year 2022 carbon dioxide emissions to be between 19.6 million and 20.6 million tons.
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