BASF narrows its 2026 EBITDA outlook upward to €7.4–7.8 billion after a 14% sales rise
Serguey Asael Shinder1 min readBASF raised the bottom of its 2026 earnings range on 28 October, now expecting EBITDA before special items of €7.4 billion to €7.8 billion, against €6.9 billion to €7.7 billion in its half-year report. Chairman Markus Kamieth said the strong year-to-date performance of the core businesses gave the company confidence to narrow the range upward.
Third-quarter sales rose 14% from a year earlier to €16.4 billion, driven mainly by prices, up 12%, with volumes up 2%. Prices rose considerably in the Chemicals, Materials, Surface Technologies and Industrial Solutions segments, while Agricultural Solutions saw slightly lower prices and a significant drop in volumes. EBITDA before special items rose 15% to €1.6 billion, an increase of €213 million, with the margin unchanged at 10.0%.
Below that line the picture is weaker. Special items of minus €437 million, mainly restructuring at the Ludwigshafen site and the settlement of a legal dispute in Care Chemicals, held reported EBITDA at €1.2 billion. Depreciation and amortisation rose to €1.3 billion, including a €318 million impairment in the Monomers division, so EBIT was minus €98 million against €232 million a year earlier. Net income was €155 million, compared with €172 million.
What it means
The growth is price, not volume: a 12% price gain against 2% more product sold means the quarter was carried by what customers paid. That makes the raised outlook sensitive to whether those prices hold. The impairment and the Ludwigshafen costs are the other side of the same company — strong pricing on top, an asset base still being cut back underneath.