BASF'S North American Results Show Improvement for First Half of 2004
August 04 2004 - 8:10AM
PR Newswire (US)
BASF'S North American Results Show Improvement for First Half of
2004 MOUNT OLIVE, N.J., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BASF's
North American financial results showed improvement in the first
half of 2004 with substantial year-over-year growth in sales and
earnings. BASF Aktiengesellschaft announced its second-quarter
financial results today in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Details can be
found under http://www.basf.de/interimreport. In the second
quarter, sales in North America increased by 11 percent to EUR 2.2
billion (about $2.7 billion). Income from operations before special
items rose almost 300 percent to EUR 204 million (about $250
million). In the first six months of 2004, sales in North America
increased 5 percent to EUR 4.1 billion (about $5 billion). Income
from operations before special items increased 250 percent to EUR
284 million (about $346 million) during the same period. First-half
results are typically stronger than second-half results in North
America due to the seasonality of the Agricultural Products
business. Most divisions in North America reported year-over-year
increases in sales as a result of higher volumes and selling
prices. The Chemicals and Plastics segments recorded the largest
percentage increases in sales and earnings before special items.
Contributing to the increases were five acquisitions by these
business segments in 2003 and 2004. "Our first-half results show
that we are making clear and substantial progress in North America.
However, we still have more work to do. In the near term, we will
continue to increase prices to compensate for very high raw
material prices. We also will continue to focus on reducing our
fixed costs through our restructuring program," said Klaus Peter
Loebbe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BASF Corporation,
BASF's North American affiliate. BASF is continuing to implement
its North American restructuring program and expects to achieve its
goal of reducing costs by at least $250 million by 2006. Based on
progress to date, the company expects to achieve $175 million in
savings in North America in 2004. The program involves optimizing
service functions, manufacturing site operations and business
processes. The streamlining of service functions, which resulted in
the elimination of approximately 1,000 positions, has been largely
completed. The optimization of manufacturing site operations and
business processes is ongoing. * During the second quarter of 2004,
the company announced restructuring plans for its Geismar, La., and
Freeport, Texas, manufacturing sites. The programs will involve the
reduction of 400 to 500 full-time- equivalent positions at the
Geismar site and 150 to 180 full-time- equivalent positions at the
Freeport site. The reductions will be substantially completed in
2005. * Also during the second quarter, key restructuring
activities included announcement of the closure of the Batavia,
Illinois, industrial coatings site to take place by year-end 2004.
The site employs about 80 people. Production is being transferred
to sites in Belvidere, N.J., Decatur, Ala., and Morganton, N.C. *
The OEM coatings business continued implementation of product and
process quality improvements in the second quarter that will reduce
staffing by more than 40 positions by year-end 2004. * In addition,
the Engineering Plastics business consolidated sales and
applications development offices from four locations to two during
the quarter. In September, BASF will relocate its North American
headquarters from Mount Olive, N.J., to a substantially smaller
facility in Florham Park, N.J. Note: BASF Group reports financial
results in Euros. References to U.S. dollars are made using the
exchange rate effective on June 30, 2004, of EUR 1.00 = $1.22. This
conversion is provided solely for the convenience of the reader.
BASF -- The Chemical Company. We don't make a lot of the products
you buy. We make a lot of the products you buy better.(R) BASF
Corporation, headquartered in New Jersey, is the North American
affiliate of BASF AG, Ludwigshafen, Germany. We employ about 11,000
people in North America and had sales of approximately $9 billion
in 2003. For more information about BASF's North American
operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit
http://www.basf.com/usa. BASF is the world's leading chemical
company. Our goal is to grow profitably and further increase the
value of our company. We help our customers to be more successful
through intelligent system solutions and high- quality products.
BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance
products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and
natural gas. Through new technologies we can tap into additional
market opportunities. We conduct our business in accordance with
the principles of sustainable development. In 2003, BASF had sales
of approximately $42 billion and over 87,000 employees worldwide.
Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at
http://www.basf.com/. DATASOURCE: BASF CONTACT: Tim Fitzpatrick,
+1-973-426-2305, , or Jack Maurer, +1-973-426-3458, , both of BASF
Web site: http://www.basf.com/usa http://www.basf.com/ x
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