(Bloomberg) — BASF SE warned that uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s trade tactics means it can’t make reliable predictions for its business this year.
BASF needs the second quarter to make a decision whether to change its financial outlook, Chief Financial Officer Dirk Elvermann said Friday on a call discussing first-quarter earnings.
“We currently see more risk to our forecast and outlook than we saw probably three months before,” Elvermann said. “The situation is very volatile.”
BASF shares declined as much as 2.6% in Frankfurt. The stock has dropped around 11% in the past year.
BASF is among industrial manufacturers struggling with high energy costs and tepid demand especially in China, a former profit driver. German chemicals makers are bracing for deteriorating business conditions in the coming months as they expect tariffs to weigh on exports. BASF said that the trade conflicts may impact demand from industries such as automotive and consumer goods.
“Developments going forward will largely depend on the trade policy decisions made by the United States and its trading partners,” BASF said in a statement. “A reliable quantification of the impact on the global economy is not possible at this time.”
BASF’s earnings before interest, taxes and special items slipped 3.2% to €2.63 billion ($2.97 billion) in the first quarter, with the company citing competitive pressures that weighed on prices for its products.
While the direct impact of US tariffs on BASF will likely be limited because it produces locally in North America, the duties are causing a high level of uncertainty, the company said.
Chief Executive Officer Markus Kamieth is revamping BASF to focus on the main chemicals, industrial and nutrition businesses while planning asset sales at other units including agriculture and battery materials. The company plans to reduce costs and has started closing some smaller production units at its Ludwigshafen site, Europe’s biggest chemical plant.
In February, BASF warned that it expects chemical sales to remain sluggish this year. Kamieth is expected to update investors on strategy later on Friday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
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