Finance
BASF cuts 2025 outlook as tariffs weigh on global economy
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
BASF lowers its 2025 outlook due to US tariffs affecting global economic growth and chemical demand, with a revised EBITDA forecast.
(Refiles to fix punctuation in paragraph 1)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Germany's BASF said on Friday that it was lowering its full-year outlook, citing weaker-than-expected global economic growth and reduced demand for its chemicals due to U.S. tariffs.
The Ludwigshafen-based chemical giant had already warned that it was facing high levels of uncertainty from U.S. tariffs and the potential backlash from other countries, cautioning that the threat of trade duties was prompting customers to order more cautiously overall.
In an unscheduled release of preliminary results on Friday, BASF said that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), before special items, would likely be between 7.3 billion euros ($8.54 billion) and 7.7 billion euros in 2025.
That is a reduction from its previous outlook of between 8.0 billion euros and 8.4 billion euros.
"Global gross domestic product is projected to grow less in 2025 than previously assumed. This development is essentially attributable to the U.S. tariffs," it said.
"In 2025, market demand for chemical products will likely grow less than previously expected," the company added.
The company also announced that second-quarter operating profit declined 9.7%, in line with market expectations.
EBITDA before special items dropped to 1.77 billion euros, right in line with consensus posted on the company's website, but lower than the 1.96 billion euros generated a year earlier.
($1 = 0.8553 euros)
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger and Tom Sims, Editing by Louise Heavens)
BASF lowered its 2025 outlook due to weaker-than-expected global economic growth and reduced demand for its chemicals, primarily attributed to U.S. tariffs.
BASF's revised EBITDA forecast for 2025 is expected to be between 7.3 billion euros and 7.7 billion euros, down from the previous estimate of 8.0 to 8.4 billion euros.
BASF reported a 9.7% decline in second-quarter operating profit, which was in line with market expectations.
The EBITDA before special items for BASF dropped to 1.77 billion euros, which was lower than the 1.96 billion euros generated a year earlier.
The global gross domestic product is projected to grow less in 2025 than previously assumed, largely due to the impact of U.S. tariffs.
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