BASF warns that it needs more time to assess the impact of prospects on prospects

(Bloomberg) – Basf warned that the uncertainty caused by the commercial tactics of President Donald Trump means that she cannot make reliable predictions for his business this year.

BASF needs the second quarter to decide to modify his financial prospects, the financial director Dirk Elvermann said on Friday on a call discussing the first quarter income.

“We are currently seeing more risks for our forecasts and perspectives than we have probably seen three months ago,” said Elvermann. “The situation is very volatile.”

BASF shares decreased up to 2.6% in Frankfurt. The stock has dropped approximately 11% in the past year.

BASF is one of the industrial manufacturers struggling with high energy costs and lukewarm demand, especially in China, an old profit engine. The manufacturers of German chemicals are preparing to deteriorate the commercial conditions in the coming months because they expect rates to weigh on exports. BASF said commercial conflicts may have an impact on the demand for industries such as automotive goods and consumer goods.

“Developments in the future will largely depend on commercial policy decisions taken by the United States and its business partners,” Basf said in a statement. “A reliable quantification of the impact on the global economy is not possible at the moment.”

The benefit of BASF before interest, taxes and special items slipped by 3.2% to 2.63 billion euros (2.97 billion dollars) in the first quarter, the company citing competitive pressures that weighed on the prices of its products.

Although the direct impact of American prices on BASF is probably limited because it produces locally in North America, the tasks cause a high level of uncertainty, said the company.

The chief executive officer, Markus Kamith, reorganizes Basf to focus on the main chemical, industrial and nutritional companies while planning asset sales in other units, including agriculture and battery materials. The company plans to reduce costs and has started to close certain small production units in its Ludwigshafen site, the largest chemical factory in Europe.

In February, BASF warned that it expects the sales of chemicals to remain slow this year. Friday, Kamith is expected to update investors on the strategy at the annual meeting of the company’s shareholders.

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