In this week's C&EN, this update from Alex Scott:
The European chemical industry’s economic outlook is worsening, according to analysts and industrial organizations, and German companies are especially affected.
The investment bank Berenberg says it expects the German firms BASF and Lanxess to issue profit warnings for the fourth quarter. In a note to investors, analysts at the bank cite weakening demand for industrial chemicals. BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller is set to hand the reins to a new leader in 2024 and, given the current economic climate, that could mean divestments for the big firm are on the horizon, Berenberg analysts state.
The value of BASF’s shares are down about 20% since the start of the year, while Lanxess’s share price has dropped by about half. BASF, Lanxess, and other European chemical firms will publish their third-quarter financial results in the next few weeks...
This has really been a brutal year for the German chemical industry, and it seems to me that it's really been an unexpected casualty of the Russian invasion of Ukraine...
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looks like Blogger doesn't work with anonymous comments from Chrome browsers at the moment - works in Microsoft Edge, or from Chrome with a Blogger account - sorry! CJ 3/21/20