Basf Italy in 2024: sales decline, chemicals and materials suffer

2024 was a difficult year for the Basf Group in Italy, but it still saw an increase in Ebitda of approximately 24 million over the previous year despite the decline in sales, which stood at 2.120 billion euros, with a -8.2% compared to 2023. The company's results were influenced by the particular and complex geopolitical and economic framework that characterized 2024, influenced in particular by international tensions linked to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and by the continuation of the automotive sector crisis on the European market, which saw a decline in sales of all the main brands, including those active in the electric mobility sector.

The Group has nevertheless reconfirmed the importance of Italian market, among the top three in Europe in terms of turnover. Investments in our country in the period 2020-2024 reached a total of 190 million euros (35% growth in five years), a trend that the Group confirms for 2025. Among the core businesses, which account for 77.5% of total sales, the Chemicals and Materials segments suffered, while the Industrial Solutions segment grew slightly (+2.1%). The best results were achieved by the Nutrition & Care segment (+ 6.9%), which includes vitamins, carotenoids, sterols used in the food industry and the entire range of surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, actives, pigments and UV filters, once again confirming the Basf Group in Italy as a valuable ally for two of the main Made in Italy excellences: food and personal care. As regards standalone activities (22.5% of total sales), the best segment was Agricultural Solutions (+7.8% compared to the previous year), which continues on the path of integration into the product offering of Hort@ – a company specialized in technological solutions for the agricultural sector, acquired by Basf in 2022 – with the aim of confirming itself as a reference player in Italy for Agriculture 4.0.

“2024 was a particular year for Basf in Italy. Despite a decline in sales of 8.2% compared to 2023, we saw a significant stability of Ebitda which increased by 24 million euros. A result obtained by pursuing cost containment policies and attention to the most promising markets and which fully reflects the results of the entire group. The national trend, once again, confirms itself influenced by the trend of the European and international industry. The current geopolitical scenario, with the consequent non-competitiveness of energy costs, combined with the ongoing crisis in the automotive sector in Europe, have considerably affected demand from our customers. The decline in sales was partially mitigated by growth in some of our segments such as Agricultural Solutions and Nutrition&Care. An important part of Basf's success in Italy is due to the increasingly sustainable solutions that we offer to our customers and which play an increasingly important role in supporting the green transformation of individual industries. Another source of pride for us is the data related to investments in Italy, which in the year just ended reached the highest peak in the last 5 years. The site that benefited the most was Pontecchio Marconi, which remains the most important production site in the country. I can also say with great satisfaction that in 2025 Basf plans to continue investing in the same site and in the others present in Italy. A bold choice in this historical period, but at the same time important, which shows how Italy continues to be central to the Group's activities", commented Lorenzo Bottinelli, CEO and Vice President of Basf Italy.