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Aug. 6, 2025 Source: Bayer news release Leverkusen, Germany - The Bayer Group is on track following an encouraging first half of the year. "We're beginning an important second half of 2025, which will be marked by further progress on all strategic priorities, continued launches, and geopolitical and currency crosswinds to navigate," CEO Bill Anderson said when presenting the company's Half-Year Financial Report on Wednesday. "Thanks to our year-to-date performance in Pharmaceuticals, we're raising our 2025 currency-adjusted guidance for the Group on both sales and earnings." This guidance takes into account the currently projected financial effects from the latest geopolitical developments. At the same time, the company anticipates significant currency fluctuations, with headwinds on sales and profits and favorable effects on net financial debt. Bayer issued an advance update on Thursday, July 31, in which it provided information on key financial performance indicators for the second quarter and upgraded its full-year guidance for currency-adjusted sales and earnings. As part of that communication, it also reported an increase in provisions and liabilities for litigation in the United States. "We affirm our objective to significantly contain the litigation risk by the end of 2026," Anderson noted on Wednesday. As part of its multi-pronged strategy, the company continues to press ahead at full speed as it looks to limit its exposure to the litigation industry, he added. As previously reported, Bayer recognized approximately 1.2 billion euros in additional provisions for glyphosate and approximately 530 million euros in provisions and liabilities for PCBs in the second quarter. "In the glyphosate litigation, an appeals court in Missouri upheld an adverse verdict against the company in the Anderson et al. case in May. As a result, Bayer increased its provisions. The company continues to appeal the verdict. "In addition, we've recently taken thousands of cases off the table through confidential settlements on a low cost-per-case average in the glyphosate litigation," Anderson explained. In the glyphosate litigation, in June the Supreme Court of the United States requested a recommendation from the Solicitor General on whether or not to hear the Durnell case. With this decision, the broader timeline of having such a ruling by summer of next year remains intact. However, Bayer's strategy to tackle the glyphosate litigation is not solely dependent on a positive decision by the Supreme Court. The company also remains active outside of the courtroom and is examining additional options to protect itself, with Anderson noting that "everything remains on the table." In the litigation surrounding PCBs, Bayer has settled the Burke case on confidential terms. In addition, the company is provisioning for potential settlements with plaintiffs from the Sky Valley Education Center and other litigation costs. The company continues to await a ruling from the Washington State Supreme Court on the Erickson case. Addressing the additional strategic priorities that Bayer is pursuing, Anderson began by highlighting Pharmaceuticals' performance. "Beyond the operational success of our Pharma business, we continue to see newsflow on our pipeline and launch assets." The company is also making headway on its plan to improve profitability in the agricultural business, Anderson said, adding that the Crop Science Division is now in a position to streamline production and operations. "The division has also reached a number of important milestones for its crop protection portfolio, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposing approval for dicamba in the United States, for instance. "In addition, Bayer recently submitted icafolin, a herbicide molecule with blockbuster potential, for approval in the United States, Canada, Brazil and the European Union. Crop Science: Sales up (Fx & portfolio adj.) thanks to corn seed business In the agricultural business (Crop Science), sales increased by 2.2 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to 4.788 billion euros. Corn Seed & Traits sales rose by 29.5 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) on global price increases and acreage expansion. Business in North America also benefited from volume phasing from the first quarter due to a strategic adjustment of the distribution network. As anticipated, sales at Soybean Seed & Traits and Cotton Seed declined - by 18.1 percent and 25.5 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), respectively - due to the vacatur of the label for dicamba-based crop protection products in the United States. The overall increase in sales for the seed and traits strategic business entities more than offset an overall decline in sales of crop protection products. The Insecticides business, for instance, was impacted by the expiration of the Movento registration in Europe, with sales decreasing 13.1 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.). By contrast, Herbicides sales were up by 1.4 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with sales of the glyphosate-based products coming in at the prior-year level as volumes increased, while prices declined. EBITDA before special items at Crop Science increased by 32.3 percent to 693 million euros, largely thanks to volume phasing from the previous quarter in the corn seed business as well as lower costs. These positive effects more than offset the negative impact from regulatory headwinds. The EBITDA margin before special items rose by 4.0 percentage points to 14.5 percent. To read the entire report click here. Tweet |
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