OREANDA-NEWS. “We had a good start to the year in our chemicals business and in the Agricultural Solutions segment. We sold more. This more than compensated for the negative effects on sales from the comparatively weak U.S. dollar and currencies in emerging markets,” said Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting of BASF SE in the Congress Center Rosengarten in Mannheim. Sales declined considerably in the Oil & Gas segment, however. At EUR 19.5 billion, BASF Group sales were down by 1% overall.

Income from operations (EBIT) before special items amounted to EUR 2.1 billion, 3% below the level of the first quarter of 2013. While earnings in the Performance Products and Functional Materials & Solutions segments improved significantly, the contribution from the Oil & Gas segment fell considerably.

EBIT included a total of EUR 109 million in special items in the first quarter of 2014. This was largely attributable to special income from the divestiture of shares in non-BASF-operated oil and gas fields in the British North Sea. EBIT therefore grew year-on-year by EUR 80 million to reach EUR 2.2 billion. EBITDA rose by EUR 96 million to EUR 3.0 billion. The financial result decreased by EUR 57 million to minus EUR 183 million.

Income before taxes and minority interests improved year-on-year by EUR 23 million to EUR 2.1 billion. Net income grew by EUR 31 million to EUR 1.5 billion. Earnings per share were EUR 1.61 in the first quarter of 2014, compared with EUR 1.57 in the same period of 2013.