Bayer, a leading German company in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, has reported a drop in its net income for the first quarter. The net income has fallen from 2.18 billion euros (or 2.22 euros per share) from the same quarter the previous year to 2.00 billion euros (or 2.04 euros per share) this year.
First-quarter core earnings per share from continuing operations also experienced a decrease, moving from 2.95 euros the previous year to 2.82 euros this year. This decrease can be primarily attributed to a drop in earnings at the Crop Science Division of the company.
Regarding sales for the group, the first quarter of 2024 concluded with 13.77 billion euros, which equates to a decrease of 0.6% on an adjusted basis for currency and portfolio (Fx & portfolio adj.). When viewed in terms of a reported basis, the decline evens out to 4.3%.
Bayer has also confirmed its prediction for the full year of 2024 after adjustments for currency. This adjustment is made in relation to the monthly averages of the exchange rates in 2023. Although there has been a surge in the negative impact from anticipated currency effects, as deduced from the closing rates on March 31, 2024. If these rates are applied instead of the rates offered on December 31, 2023, there is a clear reduction observable in the projected EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) prior to special items. These have been revised from the range of 10.4 billion to 11.0 billion euros to a range between 10.2 billion to 10.8 billion euros.
Bayer is now anticipating its annual core earnings per share to be within the range of 4.80 euros to 5.20 euros, as opposed to its former forecast of 4.95 euros to 5.35 euros. However, on a currency-adjusted basis, the company retains its expectations of achieving core earnings per share between 5.10 to 5.50 euros for the fiscal year of 2024.
