Business development in the regions in the second quarter
Sales at companies located in Europe rose by 1% in the second quarter compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Higher volumes in the segments Chemicals, Functional Materials & Solutions and especially Oil & Gas could more than compensate for lower prices and negative currency effects. Sales declined considerably in Other. EBIT before special items grew by €273 million to €1.3 billion mainly due to higher contributions from the chemicals business and from the Oil & Gas segment.In North America sales grew by 10% in U.S. dollars and by 4% in euro terms. This was largely attributable to significantly higher sales volumes, especially in the Chemicals and Functional Materials & Solutions segments. At €466 million, EBIT before special items was €19 million below the level of the same quarter of 2013. While earnings in the Chemicals and Functional Materials & Solutions segments increased considerably, earnings declined in the Performance Products and Agricultural Solutions segments as well as in Other.
In Asia Pacific sales rose by 1% in local-currency terms, but were down 5% in euro terms owing to negative currency effects and slightly declining sales prices. Sales decreased considerably in the Chemicals segment. EBIT before special items fell by €24 million to €172 million. Considerably lower earnings in the Chemicals and Agricultural Solutions segments contributed to this.
Sales in South America, Africa, Middle East grew by 6% in local-currency terms, but fell by 7% in euro terms. Sales volumes declined slightly. Highly negative currency effects could only be partially offset by increased prices. EBIT before special items decreased by €9 million to €68 million, mainly due to the Oil & Gas segment.
