Calay News
Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical giant, experienced a significant decrease in its net profit during the first quarter due to the reduction in sales of certain drugs and the drop in the price of the herbicide glyphosate. As the company reported in a statement, Bayer’s net profit reached 2.2 billion euros (2.41 billion dollars), representing a 33.8% drop in line with analysts’ expectations.
Turnover also saw a slight decline of 1.7% to €14.4 billion. Bayer acknowledged that its performance in the first quarter of 2023 was weak, as expected, and attributed this to the accelerated normalization of the glyphosate market. In 2022, the company benefited from higher herbicide prices, especially for glyphosate, due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in China, where Bayer manufactures much of its products, leading to shortages.
However, with the lifting of the restrictions, this positive effect gradually began to dissipate. On the other hand, Bayer’s pharmaceuticals division experienced a 20.4% drop in operating profit, which was due to a decline in sales, especially in China, partly due to the effects associated with the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Despite these results, the group maintained its forecasts for this year, although it expects to be at the lower end of the spectrum of its projections with a turnover growth target of between 2% and 3%. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann announced this outlook and said the company is committed to overcoming current challenges and continuing to develop its business in the future.
