German chemical giant Bayer reports profit drop in first quarter

Net income at German pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer declined to €2 billion ($2.16 billion) or €2.04 per share in the first quarter, down from €2.18 billion or €2.22 per share in the same quarter last year, the company reported on Tuesday.

Bayer said core earnings per share from continuing operations for the first quarter decreased to €2.82 from last year's €2.95, mainly due to the decline in earnings at its Crop Science Division.

Group sales were €13.77 billion in the first quarter of 2024, showing a decline of 0.6% on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis and a decline of 4.3% on a reported basis, according to the company.

Bayer confirmed its currency-adjusted forecast for the full 2024 year based on the average monthly exchange rates in 2023.

However, the negative impact from anticipated currency effects has increased based on the closing rates as of March 31, 2024.

Applying the rates on that closing date instead of December 31, 2023, led Bayer to reduce its the forecast for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) before special items from between €10.4 billion and €11 billion to between €10.2 billion and €10.8 billion.

Bayer now expects annual core earnings per share to be in the range of €4.80 to €5.20 compared to the prior outlook of €4.95 to €5.35. On a currency-adjusted basis, the company still expects core earnings per share to be €5.1 to €5.5 for fiscal year 2024.