Bayer Increases 4Q Earnings, Sales Amid Rising Number Of Glyphosate Plaintiffs

   By Kim Richters

Bayer AG said Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings and sales increased, while the number of plaintiffs the company is facing in glyphosate-related lawsuits rose again.

The German pharmaceutical and chemical company said its profit for the period was 1.41 billion euros ($1.53 billion), compared with a loss of EUR3.92 billion a year earlier. The large loss the previous year was due to one-off charges such as impairment losses.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization before special items were EUR2.48 billion, compared with EUR1.96 billion the same quarter the previous year.

Quarterly sales came in at EUR10.75 billion, up from EUR10.36 billion, Bayer said. Analysts expected sales to be EUR10.63 billion, according to a consensus provided by Vara Research.

The company is facing lawsuits related to its glyphosate weedkiller from around 48,600 plaintiffs as of Feb. 6, up from around 42,700 reported in its third-quarter earnings. The settlement negotiations for these cases are progressing, while appeal proceedings are also being explored, Bayer said.

Bayer proposed a dividend of EUR2.80 per share for 2019, unchanged from the previous year.

For 2020, Bayer expects currency-adjusted sales from continuing operations to be between EUR44 billion and EUR45 billion.

Its Ebitda margin before special items is expected to increase to around 28%, adjusted for currency effects, while Ebitda before special items is targeted at EUR12.3 billion to EUR12.6 billion.

Write to Kim Richters at kim.richters@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2020 02:21 ET (07:21 GMT)

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