Chemical giant BASF said on July 28 that its second quarter net profit gained nearly 23% to 1.45 billion euros (US$2.1 billion), and confirmed its full-year outlook.
Sales rose by 14% from the same period a year earlier to 18.5 billion euros.
BASF chief executive Kurt Bock, who took over in May, voiced caution however owing to the euro's strong value against the dollar, and debt crises in the eurozone and the United States.
"We continue to be concerned about the development of the euro as well as the debt situation in some European countries and the United States," Bock said.
High oil prices had also weighed on new orders, he added.
BASF nonetheless still expects "significant sales growth" this year, and forecast higher core earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) than last year's figure of 8.1 billion euros.
Core earnings gained around 7% in the second quarter to 2.22 billion euros.
The group said that "price increases were necessary in several business areas and will continue in the future."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
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