dpa
Mannheim
The outgoing top executive at Germany’s BASF, Martin Brudermüller, warned of challenges and continued turbulent times ahead during his final day at the helm of the global chemical giant.
The 62-year-old Brudermüller told his successor, Markus Kamieth, at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday that the company must find a way to increase profitability, especially at its largest plant in the western German city of Ludwigshafen.
BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, has been under intense cost and margin pressure in multiple markets and has also struggled with volatile energy costs in Germany.
Kamieth, 53, is a chemist by training and has worked for BASF for 25 years, most recently as the head of the company’s businesses in Asia.
Asian markets are seen by BASF’s management as the greatest potential area for growth in profits and new customers, and Kamieth is expected to press forward with that strategy, even if activist investors asked critical questions during Thursday’s gathering.
Kamieth faces immediate challenges in implementing billions of dollars in cuts announced by BASF’s board of directors, including further job reductions as part of a reorganization at the company’s flagship Lugwigshafen plant.
The company hopes to reduce annual costs by ?1 billion ($1.1 billion) at the Ludwigshafen plant by the end of 2026, although Brudermüller reiterated that it would remain the company’s headquarters and largest location.
The cost-saving plan calls for cutting 3,300 jobs worldwide, including 700 jobs in production in Ludwigshafen, as well as the closure of several energy-intensive chemical plants.
Kamieth struck a different tone from the outgoing Brudermüller as they briefly shared the stage at the meeting. Kamieth travelled the world in recent weeks meeting with BASF workers, and said his “main focus was on listening.” Brudermüller, on the other hand, acknowledged a reputation for frank and direct comments.
“It was always important to me to speak plainly, to address things openly. Not to put people down, but to encourage them,” he said in his farewell speech. “For some, I was too loud or too direct. But my impression was often that this loudness was also needed in public.”
At the start of 2024, BASF reported significant declines in sales and earnings due to lower prices for chemical products.
Revenue in the first quarter shrank by about 12% year-on-year to ?17.6 billion. Adjusted for special items, operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted EBITDA) fell by 5.3% to just under ?2.7 billion.
BASF reported first-quarter profits of just under ?1.4 billion, compared to almost ?1.6 billion a year earlier.
