FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - BASF shares, which have been running strongly since the beginning of the year, fell back significantly on Wednesday after losing billions. In pre-market trading on Tradegate, the share price slumped five percent compared to the Xetra close of the previous day to now 50.20 euros.

The reason for the billion-euro loss at the Ludwigshafen-based chemicals group is the withdrawal of its subsidiary Wintershall Dea from Russia and the associated high write-down. But BASF's day-to-day business was also rather bleak. The Group slightly missed analysts' average expectations in 2022.

The chemical industry had to struggle above all with the sharp rise in gas prices. However, because the price of gas has recently fallen again significantly, BASF's share price also benefited. In the still young stock market year 2023 alone, BASF shares had gained almost 14 percent by the previous day.

A trader was initially somewhat surprised by the share price slide, as the high write-downs had actually been an open secret. In addition to the recent strong share price performance, however, some market participants may now fear a dividend cut. However, analyst Georgina Fraser of Goldman Sachs does not expect the billion-dollar loss to affect the dividend. The decisive factor for BASF's dividend payments is typically the free cash flow./ajx/jha/