Chemical company BASF’s adjusted operating profit dropped 16 per cent in the second quarter, hurt by a slump in oil and gas unit and by weak demand for its agricultural pesticides.

The world’s largest chemical company by sales reported earnings before interest and tax (ebit), adjusted for one-off items, of €1.7 billion, compared with the average forecast for €1.71 billion in a Reuters poll of analysts.

The group reaffirmed its forecast for a considerable decline in 2016 sales – due to the sale of its gas trading business and as it adjusts prices to lower energy and raw material costs – and for adjusted ebit to be slightly below the year-earlier level.

It repeated that the goal was ambitious and depended on oil prices. – (Reuters)