LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany—BASF SE posted sales of $24.4 billion in the second quarter of 2013, up 3 percent from the same period last year. Earnings fell 5 percent, totaling $2.4 billion. In the first half of the year, sales grew by 4 percent and earnings grew 3 percent, to $50.5 billion and $5.3 billion, respectively.
In the functional materials and solutions business, which includes polyurethane systems and coatings, volumes and prices increased, with sales jumping 2 percent. Earnings grew by $102.1 million, reaching $388.5 million, thanks to better margins.
In the chemicals division, which includes isocyanates in the monomer segment, sales decreased by 4 percent in what BASF called a "weak environment." Sales prices declined due to lower raw material costs, though volumes rose slightly.
BASF noted that compared with the second quarter of 2012, earnings fell by $140.5 million to $656.3 billion, mainly the result of weaker margins for caprolactam and polyamides.