Bayer Warns on Crop Weakness as Roundup Plaintiffs Rise -- Update
July 30 2019 - 10:58AM
Dow Jones News
By Sara Germano and Ruth Bender
BERLIN -- Bayer AG warned that severe weather impacting its
crop-science division could strain its ability to hit full-year
sales targets, adding to fresh concerns about the company's
troubled acquisition of Monsanto last year.
The German chemical and pharmaceutical giant is grappling with
the effects of what analysts say has been one of the worst crop
planting seasons in the U.S. on record.
On Tuesday, the company reported a 49% drop in net income for
the quarter ended in June, as extreme weather across the U.S.,
Canada and Europe hurt the crop-science division, Bayer's largest
unit by sales.
Chief Financial Officer Wolfgang Nickl said Tuesday that the
challenges in the crop business makes achieving Bayer's full-year
performance outlook seem "increasingly ambitious."
Bayer said the number of plaintiffs suing over its Roundup
herbicide rose by another 5,000 over the last three months,
highlighting the difficulty in putting to rest a damaging legal
battle over the world's most widely used weedkiller.
Overall sales grew 21% to EUR11.5 billion ($12.8 billion),
boosted by its acquisition of Monsanto last June. Profit fell by
nearly half to EUR404 million, crimped by charges and impairments
related to ongoing restructuring as well as challenges in the crop
division.
A wet planting season delayed farmers from getting their corn
crop into the ground, while dry weather across Europe and Canada
hit demand for herbicides and fungicides.
Shares of Bayer fell nearly 5% to EUR56.68 in afternoon trading
Tuesday.
The Leverkusen, Germany-based inventor of Aspirin has lost
almost 40% of its market value since acquiring Monsanto, due to
fears that the lawsuits will cost the company several billions of
dollars and are clouding plans to boost profits by expanding in the
agriculture sector.
Analysts are beginning to doubt the company's ability to
maintain its guidance, because of the crop sector trouble,
according to research from Bernstein.
Bayer has been entangled in a protracted legal battle, pitching
it against thousands of cancer patients claiming Monsanto-invented
Roundup weedkillers cause cancer. The number of plaintiffs rose to
18,400 in the latest quarter, from 13,400 in April, Bayer said.
On Tuesday, Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann told analysts
that "while this is an increase since our last reporting, it is by
no means a reflection of the merits of the litigation," adding that
the company will "only consider a settlement if financially
reasonable."
Bayer lost the three first jury verdicts in the U.S., with
awards reaching as high as $2 billion, though last week a
California judge reduced that penalty to $86.7 million. Bayer is
appealing the verdicts and argues that Roundup and its active
ingredient glyphosate are safe.
In recent weeks, Bayer has stepped up efforts to reassure
investors that it is doing what it can to get the legal woes under
control, after shareholders staged a dramatic revolt at the group's
last annual meeting.
In June, Bayer bowed to shareholder pressure by announcing it
would review its approach to defending itself against the claims
and hiring a high-profile lawyer to advise on legal strategy.
On Tuesday, management said that despite the bad weather
weighing on crop yields in the Northern Hemisphere during the first
half of the year, they remained optimistic that the segment can
rebound as Latin America and the Asia-Pacific regions begin their
planting seasons.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com and Ruth Bender at
Ruth.Bender@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 30, 2019 10:43 ET (14:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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