BERLIN, May 3 (Xinhua) -- German chemical giant BASF's earnings fell 24 percent to 1.7 billion euros (1.9 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2019, the company announced on Friday.
Improved efficiency and the agricultural division, bolstered by the acquisition of crop and seed businesses from Bayer, was offset by lower petrochemical margins, falling polyurethane prices and weaker demand for coatings and catalytic convertors by the automotive industry.
Earnings per share fell 16 percent to 1.53 euros from 1.83 euros, according to the German chemical company.
Despite the challenging environment, and high-levels of uncertainty, BASF is still expected to grow sales and income in 2019 although at the lower end of the one to ten percent forecast that was previously announced.
Following a profit warning in December, shares of BASF fell to their lowest level since 2016.
Low levels of water in the River Rhine, a major shipping route and source of cooling water for reactors, had cost BASF 250 million euros last year. At the time, the supply of raw materials by inland shipping to BASF's main plant in Ludwigshafen almost came to a complete standstill.
"We obviously are not expecting this to repeat in the year 2019," said Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Hans-Ulrich Engel.
BASF announced that the company had acted to reduce its reliance on cooling water from the Rhine and had contingency arrangements in place to use barges capable of navigating shallow waters, if required.
