Chemical heavyweight BASF's Q4 2009 operating profit beat out analysts' expectations at €1.48 billion. At the same time last year, the company found itself in the thick of the recession and had posted an operating profit of €526 million. BASF reported that demand began to recover over the course of 2009, particularly in Asia. The company said it was able to adjust capacities and increase efficiency, thus stabilizing and improving earnings over the four quarters in 2009.

Overall in 2009, the company's sales dropped by 19% to €50.7 billion from €62 billion in 2008, with all segments posting lower sales with the exception of Performance Products and Agricultural Solutions.

In 2010, BASF said it expects global industrial production to grow by just under 5%, albeit from a very low level.

"The slow recovery is continuing. The fourth quarter of 2009 was encouraging and gives us grounds for confidence," Hambrecht said. "The worst is behind us, even though dark clouds remain. 2010 will be a transitional year with uneven development from region to region. Overall, there are no signs of a self-sustaining, long-term recovery."

Nevertheless, BASF said it is seeing growth in most of its customer industries, which are, however, emerging from a deep recession. The company said the automotive, IT and electronics industries are leading the way. BASF said it expects a moderate increase of 2.7% in global gross domestic product significant growth of 5.3% in global chemical production (excluding pharmaceuticals).