Staff Reports
NEWS BREAKING IN FRANKFURT (Reuters) In spite of a drop in sales of its Xarelto medicine to prevent strokes, agriculture and pharmaceuticals firm Bayer announced quarterly results that were higher than anticipated.
On Tuesday, the German firm said that its adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter increased by 17.3 percent, reaching 2.45 billion euros ($2.45 billion). This figure was higher than the average expectation of 2.31 billion euros provided by analysts on the firm's website.
Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, the average price of glyphosate has increased by around 2.5 times since early 2021, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann told journalists in a teleconference. Bayer acquired glyphosate products as part of its purchase of Monsanto.
However, Finance Director Wolfgang Nickl said that price cuts had started in Q3. Moreover, “We expect them to normalize further in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Despite maintaining its full-year projection from August, Bayer also warned that price increases would persist until 2020. As analysts highlighted worries about the cost forecast, the company's stock dropped 2.4%, wiping off gains from the previous two trading days.
Litigation expenses for Bayer's crop science sector have increased due to accusations of cancer from largely individual users of glyphosate-based weedkillers, while demand has remained steady among farmers.
After winning five cases in a row, Bayer is taking a harder stance on lawsuit settlements, which have cost the company billions of dollars so far despite the fact that authorities have already certified the drugs safe.
The business said in August that it expected its adjusted EBITDA to increase to almost 13 billion euros in 2022 from 11.2 billion in 2021 using foreign currency rates as of June 30.
Adjusted EBITDA in the crop science segment increased by 33.5% to 629 million euros, above the market forecast of 589 million euros, as robust glyphosate business more than compensated for poorer corn and soy seed sales as U.S. farmers reduced planting due to drought.
Sales of Xarelto, Bayer's best-selling medication, fell 6.2% quarter-over-quarter to 1.11 billion euros, slightly below market projections due to competitive buying tenders in China that lowered pricing and volume.
(Ludwig Burger contributed reporting; Louise Heavens and Mark Potter edited the draught)
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Oann.
