Germany. Chemical company BASF reported a drop in fourth-quarter operating profit and is poised to face a decline in sales and profits in 2009 as demand from key sectors such as auto and construction shows no signs of rebounding."2009 will be a year of unprecedented challenges," Chief Executive Juergen Hambrecht said in a statement reproduced by Reuters. "The situation in our sales markets is getting worse and inventory levels in the value chain are still too high," he added.
The group expects global chemical production to fall by 2% in 2009. It also reported that its fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell 70% to $670 million.
The firm had a net loss of $393 million in the quarter. Quarterly sales fell 2.7% to $17.95 billion.
As a result, BASF announced that it will eliminate some 1,500 of its 97,000 jobs, through the closure of plants in the United States, Asia and Europe.
