Issue 4/2016 - Chemical giants at a glance

BASF has announced its 2015 non-audited financial figures
ahead of schedule.
BASF's sales and EBIT before special items are estimated to be slightly below the previous year's level
in 2015.
Sales decreased by 5 percent to €70.
4 billion (2014: €74.
3 billion), mainly due to divestitures
of the gas trading and storage business.
EBIT before special items is expected to be €6.
7 billion (2014: €7.
4 billion), mainly due to a significant year-on-year decline in earnings in the Oil & Gas and Chemicals divisions in the fourth quarter, with lower margins in the Petrochemicals segment leading to a decline
in the Chemicals segment.
For the full year 2015, BASF Group was estimated to have a significant year-on-year decline in EBIT of €6.
2 billion (2014: €7.
6 billion), mainly due to the oil and gas business
.
BASF expects oil and gas prices to remain low in 2016 and to lower
its forecast for oil and gas prices in the coming years.


DuPont recently released its fourth-quarter 2015 results
.
For the fourth quarter ended December 30, 2015, net loss attributable to DuPont was $253 million, compared to a profit of $683 million
for the same period last year.
During the same period, revenue declined
.
Agricultural Products revenue decreased 11% year-over-year to $1.
55 billion, Performance Materials revenue decreased to $1.
28 billion, and Safety & Protection revenue decreased 8% to $864 million
.


Eastman recently announced diluted earnings per share of $1.
59 (excluding non-core items) for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to $
1.
64 in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Diluted earnings per share were $0.
83 in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to $0.
11 in the year-ago quarter, marking the sixth consecutive year of solid earnings growth
.