Reuters
* Q2 adj EBIT 2.25 bln eur vs Reuters poll avg 2.2 bln eur * Basic chemicals prices rise as demand outpaces investments * BASF now sees gain in adj EBIT of at least 11 percent (Adds industry background) By Ludwig BurgerFRANKFURT, July 27 (Reuters) - Germany's BASF <BASFn.DE>, the world's largest chemicals group by sales, posted a better-than-expected gain in quarterly operating profit on Thursday, boosted by strong demand for its basic petrochemicals, and lifted its full-year profit target. BASF's second-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), adjusted for one-off items, rose 32 percent to 2.25 billion euros ($2.64 billion), surpassing the 2.2 billion euros expected on average by analysts polled by Reuters. [nL5N1KG17S] Investments into new capacity across the basic chemicals sector - which make the building blocks for more advanced products such as pesticides, engineering plastics or cleaning products - have not kept up with better-than-expected growth in demand so far this year. This has inflated prices, which were bolstered further by a slew of plant outages due to technical glitches across the industry. BASF, whose products include engine-exhaust catalytic converters, insulation foams, vitamins and plastics, said 2017 adjusted EBIT would considerably exceed the previous year's level by at least 11 percent, cautioning that growth at its basic chemicals units would likely lose momentum during the second half. It previously saw a gain in adjusted EBIT of up to 10 percent in 2017. Business at BASF units making more advanced chemicals mainly saw declining operating earnings in the quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Georgina Prodhan) ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters Messaging: ludwig.burger.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) http://www.nasdaq.com/article/basf-q2-earnings-get-boost-from-basic-chemicals-20170727-00065