Markus Kamieth, future chairman of the board of BASF SE, speaks at the general meeting of the chemical company BASF. picture alliance/dpa | Uwe Anspach
Markus Kamieth becomes the new CEO of BASF. The trained chemist was previously the group’s head of Asia.
Recently, the chemical company’s board of directors announced another billion-dollar savings program and further job cuts at the main plant in Ludwigshafen.
At the beginning of 2024, the DAX group recorded a decline in sales and earnings due to significantly lower prices.
The new BASF boss Markus Kamieth takes over the leadership in challenging times. This was emphasized by his predecessor Martin Brudermüller on his last day for the DAX group during the general meeting in Mannheim on Thursday. The world‘s largest chemical company is faced with cost and margin pressure. In particular, profitability at the largest location in Ludwigshafen, the headquarters of the DAX group, must be increased, explained the 62-year-old.
Kamieth was previously BASF’s head of Asia
Management sees the greatest opportunities for new customers and profits in the growth market in Asia, despite numerous critical questions from shareholders and shareholder advocates during the general meeting. It is unlikely that the new CEO will deviate from these goals. Markus Kamieth, 53 years old, a trained chemist who has worked for BASF for 25 years, previously held the position of Asia Head of the group.
However, the management style could change: “It was always important to me to speak plainly and to address things openly. Not to make you miserable, but to encourage you,” said company boss Brudermüller during his farewell appearance in front of around 5,000 shareholders. “For some people I was too loud or too direct. But my impression was often that this volume was also needed in public.”
New boss, new style?
The new company leader chose different words when he stood on stage next to his predecessor: He had had many conversations with the BASF teams around the world in the past few weeks. “For me it was all about listening,” assured Kamieth. When he took office, the enthusiastic cyclist received a cycling jersey with the BASF logo and his initials as a gift.
The new top manager will also need staying power when it comes to the company’s goals: the chemical company’s board of directors recently announced another billion-dollar savings program and further job cuts at the main plant in Ludwigshafen. The company’s largest production site is to be restructured, with the aim of achieving additional annual savings of one billion euros by the end of 2026. Despite these measures, Brudermüller reiterated that Ludwigshafen would remain the company’s largest location and headquarters in the future.
BASF management had already announced a savings program in 2022. This should reduce annual costs by a total of 1.1 billion euros by the end of 2026. This includes the reduction of around 3,300 jobs worldwide, including 700 jobs in production in Ludwigshafen, as well as the closure of several energy-intensive chemical plants, for example for ammonia.
Decline in sales and earnings in the first quarter
At the beginning of 2024, the DAX group recorded a decline in sales and earnings due to significantly lower prices. In addition, negative currency effects put a strain on the financial situation. Revenues in the first three months fell by a good twelve percent to 17.6 billion euros compared to the previous year. Operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (adjusted Ebitda), adjusted for special items, fell by 5.3 percent to almost 2.7 billion euros.
Last year the group recorded a profit of almost 1.4 billion euros, compared to almost 1.6 billion euros in the previous year. The goals for 2024 have been confirmed by BASF: The company is aiming for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) and special items of between 8.0 and 8.6 billion euros this year. A forecast for sales and net profit was not published.
jm/dpa
Read too
The IMF also cuts the outlook for the German economy: Here are all the forecasts for the economy in 2024 and 2025 in a table