Bayer books bumper third quarter as Monsanto merger waits in wings
FRANKFURTAMMAIN: German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said it booked a huge windfall gain in the third quarter, but reported no fresh progress on its planned mega-merger with US seeds and pesticides maker Monsanto.
Group net profit stood at 3.9 billion euros ( US$ 4.6 billion) between July and September, more than triple the 1.2 billion euros reported in the same period last year.
But this year’s result included a one-off gain of 2.8 billion euros related to the spin-off of Bayer’s polymers division, Covestro.
Underlying or operating profit increased by 7.6 per cent quarteron-quarter to 1.6 billion euros, while revenues fell by 2.8 per cent to 8.0 billion euros, Bayer said in a statement.
Bayer’s flagship pharmaceuticals division increased revenues 2.3 per cent, with particularly strong performance for its stable of recently-developeddrugs,including anticoagulant Xarelto and eye medicine Eylea.
Meanwhile, its over-the-counter medicines unit – which offers household names like Aspirin and Claritin – reported a 2.9-per cent drop in sales, largely as a result of weaker performances in the US and Russia.
The agrochemicals division boosted revenues by 2.7 per cent, driven by the North America and Asia-Pacific regions, while the group said it had made progress reducing losses in Brazil after a poor harvest season cut sales in the second quarter.
Bayer said it was “actively addressing the authorities’ possible concerns” of its planned US$66billion takeover of Monsanto by agreeing to sell a slew of agrochemical activities to homegrown rival BASF for 5.9 billion euros if the bigger deal goes ahead.
The group said it hopes to complete the merger “by early 2018”.
Politicians and environmental groups on both sides of the Atlantic have opposed the tie-up, fearing it will create a corporate titan with a tight grip on global food chains.
Looking ahead to the full year, Bayer confirmed its forecast of a “low- single- digit percentage increase” in sales to between 35 and 36 billion euros, with operating profit “slightly above” the figure for last year. — AFP