BASF SE is a German chemicals group headquartered in Ludwigshafen and the largest chemical producer in the world by sales. Alongside bulk chemicals, intermediates and performance materials it supplies fluid catalytic cracking catalysts and additives to refineries, chemicals for drilling, cementing, stimulation, production and enhanced oil recovery to oilfield service companies, and process chemicals for refining, lubricants and mining. Around 95,000 people work in the BASF Group.
Structure and sites
BASF reports in six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. Production is organised around Verbund sites, where plants share raw materials, energy and infrastructure, with the largest at Ludwigshafen and a newer integrated complex at Zhanjiang in China that the company reported had been successfully ramped up. Dr. Markus Kamieth is chief executive officer and Dr. Dirk Elvermann is chief financial officer. The company is listed in Frankfurt and its shares also trade on other exchanges.
Second-quarter 2026 results
In results published on 29 July 2026 BASF reported second-quarter sales of 17.2 billion euros, 2.4 billion euros above the prior-year quarter, driven by prices 11.5 per cent higher and volumes up 7.3 per cent. EBITDA before special items improved by 854 million euros to 2.4 billion euros, with the largest earnings gains in Materials, Chemicals and Industrial Solutions, while Agricultural Solutions and Nutrition & Care rose slightly. EBITDA of 2.0 billion euros included special items of minus 484 million euros, mainly for the cost savings programme at Ludwigshafen and the roll-out of new ERP systems. EBIT was 937 million euros and income after taxes reached 4.2 billion euros, including a disposal gain of 3.5 billion euros on the sale of the Coatings business to Carlyle. Net income was 4.1 billion euros. Free cash flow was negative 189 million euros as working capital absorbed cash.
First half and the 2026 outlook
First-half sales rose to 33.2 billion euros on volumes 5.7 per cent higher and prices 4.8 per cent higher, and EBITDA before special items increased by 715 million euros to 4.8 billion euros. Cash flows from investing activities were 5.1 billion euros, reflecting the 5.6 billion euro net inflow from the Coatings disposal and 831 million euros received from selling shares in Harbour Energy, the oil and gas producer in which BASF held a stake. On the strength of trading, BASF raised its full-year 2026 outlook for EBITDA before special items to between 6.9 billion and 7.7 billion euros, from 6.2 to 7.0 billion euros in the 2025 report, and now assumes an average Brent crude price of 80 dollars per barrel rather than 65 dollars.
Cost reduction and portfolio change
BASF is executing a strategy it calls Winning Ways. From January 2024 to the end of June 2026 the group reduced its workforce by around 7,000, a figure that excludes divestitures and new hires at Zhanjiang, and it has reported progress on lowering capital expenditure and raising plant utilisation. Management has said it expects annual cost savings of roughly 2.3 billion euros by the end of 2026. The portfolio has changed substantially: the Coatings business was sold to Carlyle in 2026, generating the large disposal gain, and shareholders approved the carve-out of Agricultural Solutions into a legally independent subsidiary, preparing the division for a possible listing. The chemicals business has also been reshaped by the earlier separation of the oil and gas activities previously held through Wintershall Dea, of which the retained Harbour Energy shares are a remnant.
Where BASF sits in the energy chain
Refining and oilfield customers are served through dedicated businesses rather than a single division. BASF sells fluid catalytic cracking catalysts and additives with technical service support under its refinery catalysts business, offers chemical catalysts and adsorbents for petrochemical and chemical producers, and provides oilfield chemicals for drilling, cementing, stimulation, production and enhanced oil recovery. Its Performance Chemicals division lists refining, lubricants, oilfield and mining among its customer industries. At the same time the group is one of Europe's largest industrial energy consumers, which makes its earnings sensitive to gas and power prices at Ludwigshafen and explains the attention management gives to the site's cost base and to the Brent assumption in its guidance.