BASF published its 2015 results on February 26, revealing that revenue generated by its nutiriton and health division – part of its performance products segment – was €1.99bn ($2.18bn), down €31m year-on-year.
The firm attirbuted the decline to competition in the vitamin E and aroma chemicals markets and also to the sale of several APIs – including ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and caffeine - and its custom synthesis operations to Siegfried Holding last year.
At the time BASF said the sell off – which included facilities in Vinden, Germany, Evionnaz Switzerland and Saint-Vulbas, France - would let it focus on the most lucrative ingredients in its portfolio, namley ibuprofen, polyethylenglycol (PEG) and omega-3.
Spokesman Andres Christian Orthofer confirmed this is still the plan, telling us the APIs will “remain a core focus in BASF’s portfolio.”
Siegfried plans
Siegfried spokesman Peter Gehler told us his firm is already using the acquired APIs to expand its customer base.
“As we have already access to 70% of our target customer portfolio our main focus is to expand business and elaborate synergies based on our combined expanded asset network and our additional drug product segments.”
The Swiss firm – which is due to publish its full year results this month – still uses BASF as a distributor for the drug actives, although this agreement will soon come to an end.
Gehler told us Siegfried will take over distribution in the second half of the year, adding that: “From then on we will take over all their [BASF's] customers.”
He also confirmed that Siegfried has retrained all of BASF’s former custom synthesis clients.