by Ludwig Burger
LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY (Reuters) – BASF said on Friday it was cutting 2,600 jobs, mostly in Europe, and warned of a further decline in profit this year due to high costs in Europe, rising interest rates and the uncertainty created by the war in Ukraine.
The German chemicals giant expects to see its earnings before interest and tax (Ebit), adjusted for special items, rise between 4.8 billion euros and 5.4 billion in 2023.
Last year, Ebit has already fallen by 11.5%, to 6.9 billion.
BASF, which last October presented plans to cut annual costs of 500 million euros in Europe, said Friday that this would result in the loss of some 2,600 jobs, of which around 65% in Germany.
The share buyback program, with 3 billion euros planned at the beginning of last year, will be stopped earlier than planned after 1.4 billion euros spent on treasury shares due to “profound changes in the global economy,” explained BASF.
The group last month announced a writedown of 7.3 billion euros for 2022 on the value of its energy business Wintershall Dea, which is withdrawing from Russia.
In the press release published on that date, BASF had calculated that this reduction would lead to an annual net loss of 1.38 billion euros. Figures released on Friday, however, show a net loss of 627 million euros.
(Report Ludwig Burger, written by Rachel More; Dagmarah Mackos, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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