Frankfurt — Operating earnings at Germany’s Bayer, which is buying US seeds company Monsanto, edged 4% higher as weaker-than-expected consumer healthcare revenues tempered gains in prescription drug sales.
Bayer’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the third quarter came in at ¤2.20bn ($2.60bn), slightly higher than the average forecast by analysts of ¤2.12bn, helped by continued growth in prescriptions for anti-clotting drug Xarelto.
Adjusted Ebitda at the consumer health unit, owner of brands such as sunscreen Coppertone and allergy remedy Claritin, fell a weaker-than-expected 16.5% to ¤274m.
Bayer, struggling with price pressure from large US drugstore chains and from consumers switching to cheaper rivals, said the US market environment remained challenging.
Bayer said it still expected 2017 Ebitda before special items to come in slightly above last year’s level, now excluding plastics maker Covestro, in which it holds a minority stake after selling blocks of shares on the open market.
Bayer, which is seeking anti-trust approval for the $66bn Monsanto deal, reiterated that it expected to wrap up the transaction in early 2018. On October 5, European regulators stopped the clock in the approval process, pushing back the January 22, 2018 deadline to account for extra time the companies need to garner information they requested.
Reuters
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