BASF SE’s second-quarter profit dropped 16% as the world’s largest chemical maker was hit by weaker demand for farm products and a lower oil price.
Earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items fell to €1.71 billion ($1.88 billion) in the three months through June, the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based company said Wednesday in a statement, Bloomberg reported. Profit fell 12% at the division that makes fungicides and herbicides used on crops.
“Agricultural solutions came out worse than expected,” Bernstein analyst Jeremy Redenius wrote in a note. “Declines in Europe and Latin America more than offset the growth in Asia and North America.”
Chief executive officer Kurt Bock has focused on cutting costs instead of taking part in consolidation in the agricultural sector as rivals Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. work toward merging their crop chemical activities amid declining farm incomes.
