The German chemical giant BASF has presented its financial results for the 2025 fiscal year, reflecting a notable recovery in its net profitability despite facing a challenging macroeconomic environment characterized by volatility and contained global demand. The company reported a net profit of 1.6 billion euros, which represents an increase of 24.7% compared to the 1,283 million obtained in 2024. This boost in earnings has been favored mainly by the improvement in the results of its equity investments and the successful execution of its operational efficiency programs.
However, the turnover shows a different trend. BASF's total sales in 2025 amounted to 59.7 billion euros, which represents a slight contraction of 2.9% compared to the previous year. According to the company's management, this drop in revenue is due to a combination of factors: a slight drop in selling prices in certain key segments and the negative effects derived from exchange rates, especially the weakness of currencies such as the Chinese yuan, the US dollar, and the Brazilian real against the euro.
Intensification of cost cutting: given this scenario of pressure on revenues, the company's strategy has focused firmly on what they can control: its operating costs. BASF has announced that it has exceeded its initial savings targets set for the end of 2025, reaching an annualized cost reduction rate of 1,700 million euros, 100 million more than originally planned.
This financial discipline will intensify in the coming months. The company has decided to raise its cost savings target for the 2026 fiscal year. BASF now expects to achieve a structural cost reduction of 2.3 billion euros annually by the end of that year, compared to the previous forecast of 2.1 billion. To achieve this, the company will continue optimizing its organizational structures, streamlining its global services, and adapting its production capacity in Europe to current demand.
Outlook for 2026 and restructuring: looking to the immediate future, BASF remains cautious. For 2026, management expects EBITDA before special items to be in a range of between 6,200 and 7,000 million euros, a level similar to 2025 (6,600 million), which suggests that challenging market conditions will persist.
On the operational front, the company is advancing its simplification strategy, which includes the sale of non-strategic assets and the transformation of business units to make them more independent and competitive. Furthermore, the company continues to invest in high-growth markets, highlighting progress in the construction of its new integrated production center in Zhanjiang, China, a key project to ensure its future competitiveness in Asia.