Admin I Tuesday, November 12, 2024
BERLIN – German pharmaceutical giant Bayer on Tuesday reported further losses in the third quarter as it revised its forecast for the financial year.
Net losses in the third quarter were €4.18 billion ($4.44 billion), down from €4.57 billion in the same period last year.
Loss per share was €4.26, compared to €4.66 in the previous year.
Core earnings per share for the third quarter declined to €0.24 from €0.38, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) before special items decreased by 25.8% to €1.25 billion.
The latter figure included a negative currency effect of €94 million compared to €31 million in the prior year.
Group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at minus €3.82 billion compared to minus €3.59 billion in the prior year. This included net special charges of €4.09 billion that were mainly related to non-cash impairment losses on intangible assets in the crop science division.
Group sales were €9.97 billion in the third quarter of 2024, up 0.6% on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis. There was a negative currency effect of €436 million.
Bayer has confirmed its 2024 Group guidance for currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales growth, currency-adjusted core earnings per share, and free cash flow.
However, in view of the weaker-than-anticipated development of the agricultural market, the company has revised some parts of its forecast.
Bayer now expects to generate EBITDA before special items of between €10.4 billion and €10.7 billion, based on average monthly exchange rates in 2023. Previously, it was expected to be between €10.7 billion and €11.3 billion.
