Bayer Confirms 2022 Objectives After 3Q Sales Beat -- Update

By Cecilia Butini

Bayer AG on Tuesday backed its 2022 financial objectives after third-quarter sales beat expectations and it reported earnings growth in all segments.

The German pharmaceutical-and-agricultural company posted a net profit of 546 million euros ($547.2 million) for the period, up from EUR85 million the year prior, when its agricultural division was in a recovery phase. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before special items--a closely-watched metric--was EUR2.45 billion for the period, up from EUR2.09 billion the year prior.

Sales rose to EUR11.28 billion for the quarter from EUR9.78 billion the year prior.

Both sales and Ebitda before special items beat analysts' expectations, while net profit came slightly short.

The company's agricultural division, a key growth driver, posted higher sales in the third quarter compared with the previous year. The business achieved double-digit percentage gains in Latin America and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, but sales declined significantly in North America due to higher seed returns, it said.

The pharmaceutical division also saw a rise in sales as prescription medicines sales were 2.9% higher than the previous year, Bayer said. However, overall sales growth was held back by a patent expiry in Brazil for blood thinner Xarelto and sales declines in China on both cancer drug Nexavar and Xarelto. Bayer's consumer-health division reported sales growth across all regions, the company added.

Bayer backed its 2022 view and Chief Executive Werner Baumann said the company is on track to achieve the full-year outlook it raised in August.

The company expects cost increases to continue into the new year, and that it aims to be independent of Russian gas in Germany by the end of 2022, it said.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 08, 2022 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT)

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