German chemical giant Bayer posts unexpected loss

FRANKFURT, Germany — German chemicals giant Bayer, long weighed down by woes related to its glyphosate-based weedkillers, reported an unexpected second-quarter loss Tuesday driven by a poor performance in its agrochemicals division.

While group sales rose by 3.1 per cent to 11.1 billion euros ($12.1 billion), earnings were down "mainly due to an unfavourable product mix", the group said in a statement.

The loss of 34 million euros puts the German giant back in the red after two profitable quarters.

Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had forecast a profit of 71 million euros.

Sales in Bayer's agricultural business increased by 1.1 per cent, mainly due to higher sales of glyphosate-based herbicides, especially in North America.

But the division registered a loss of 229 million euros due to what group CEO Bill Anderson described as a "challenging agricultural market environment".

The company has kept its earnings forecasts unchanged for 2024.

Bayer has been dogged in recent years by massive litigation issues linked to the Roundup weedkiller, a problem it inherited in the 2018 takeover of US firm Monsanto.

The group has faced a wave of lawsuits in the United States over claims Roundup, which contains the active ingredient lyphosate, causes cancer. Bayer denies the claim but has spent billions of euros on legal costs.

In the second quarter of 2023, Bayer made a loss of 1.8 billion euros, partly due to declines in its glyphosate business.

Anderson, hired last year to help steer the troubled group in a new direction, is aiming to make savings of two billion euros a year from 2026.