(Bloomberg) -- BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical company, posted better-than-expected preliminarily earnings for the fourth quarter amid a rebound in demand for plastics.
BASF sees adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rising to 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), and sales climbing to 15.9 billion euros in the three months through December, the company said Wednesday. Both figures were higher than the year-earlier period and beat analysts’ estimates.
BASF’s upbeat report suggests that the chemical industry is emerging from a broad slowdown across sectors from automotive to construction. Like polycarbonate maker Covestro AG, which raised its guidance late last year, BASF is likely seeing margins improving in some of the basic materials that form the backbone of so many everyday goods and components.
BASF rose as much as 1.5% in early Frankfurt trading, valuing the Ludwigshafen, Germany-based company at about 62 billion euros.
“BASF is set for its biggest earnings upgrades since the end of the global financial crisis,” Sebastian Bray, an analyst at Berenberg, said before the company’s update on Wednesday.
Chief Executive Officer Martin Brudermueller is scheduled to present more detailed fourth-quarter results on Jan. 26.
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