Bayer Hit by Around $2.5 Billion of Impairments at Ailing Crop Business

By Cecilia Butini

Bayer booked impairments and charges related to its agricultural business, where lower glyphosate prices weighed, leading to a widened second-quarter loss, it said Tuesday.

The German pharmaceutical and agricultural company said impairment losses of 2.30 billion euros ($2.53 billion) dragged earnings, and posted a net loss for the quarter of EUR1.88 billion. In the same quarter the previous year, the net loss had been EUR298 million.

Sales were EUR11.04 billion for the period, in line with a forecast the company gave when it revised its guidance on July 24. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before special items--a key company metric--declined to EUR2.53 billion from EUR3.35 billion the previous year, in line with company expectations.

Bayer confirmed the lowered guidance it issued on July 24 due to a significant decline in sales of glyphosate-based products. The guidance includes projected sales in a range of EUR48.5 billion and EUR49.5 billion for the full year, meaning a 2% to 3% decline.

The Crop Science agricultural division is seen with a sales decline of 5%, while sales in the pharmaceutical business are expected roughly flat compared with the previous year, Bayer said.

Write to Cecilia Butini at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 08, 2023 02:28 ET (06:28 GMT)

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