German chemical, oil company BASF cuts 2015 outlook as global economic growth stutters

Chemical and oil company BASF is warning that its profits will come in below its previous forecast in the wake of slower global economic growth and industrial production.

Shares in BASF SE dropped 2.4 percent to 69.34 euros ($87.70) in Frankfurt trading Friday after the company revised its forecast.

BASF upheld its target of a slight increase in pretax earnings this year but said that "from today's point of view" it no longer expects to reach its previous 2015 forecast of 80 billion euros in revenue and 14 billion euros in pretax profit.

It says it now expects those figures to be "in line with market expectations" — in the case of pretax profit that means somewhere between 10 and 12 billion euros.