Sales up by 13.2 per cent to € 9,415 million / Operating result (EBIT) rises by 4 per cent to € 1,148 million / EBITDA before special items advances by 22.3 per cent to € 2,232 million / Net income up 8.4 per cent to € 684 million / Group forecast raised – improvement expected at CropScience.
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY: The Bayer group got off to a successful start to 2011. Sales of Bayer climbed by 13.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to € 9,415 million (Q1 2010: € 8,316 million). Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects, sales were up by 10.4 per cent. Despite the positive business trend, the operating result (EBIT) improved by only 4 per cent to € 1,148 million (Q1 2010: € 1,104 million).
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) – before special items – climbed by 22.3 per cent to € 2,232 million (Q1 2010: € 1,825 million). Net income came in at € 684 million (Q1 2010: € 631 million), up 8.4 per cent year on year.
“All three subgroups contributed to the strong start to the year with sales and earnings increases,” said Dr Marijn Dekkers, CEO, Bayer. He was especially pleased at how well the season had begun at cropscience. MaterialScience achieved significant growth compared with the prior-year quarter, which was still hampered by the financial and economic crisis and healthcare also posted a solid performance. Dekkers expressed his optimism for the year as a whole: “We are raising our group sales and earnings forecast for this year, mainly because of the improvement we expect at cropscience.”
The healthcare segment benefitted from growth in consumer health business. Sales of the healthcare subgroup increased by 7.7 per cent in the first quarter to € 4,166 million (Q1 2010: € 3,869 million). Sales in the consumer health segment improved by 13.4 per cent to € 1,517 million, with all regions contributing to growth. EBITDA before special items of the healthcare subgroup advanced by 11.4 per cent to € 1,140 million (Q1 2010: € 1,023 million).
There was growth impetus in the cropscience segment with sales rising by 15.6 per cent in the first quarter compared with the weak prior-year period to € 2,257 million (Q1 2010: € 1,952 million). EBITDA of cropscience rose by 40.3 per cent to € 745 million (Q1 2010: € 531 million), the growth in earnings being mainly due to the good business development in crop protection and bioscience.
The materialscience segment saw significantly higher demand from all the main customer industries. Bayer’s high-tech materials business continued its gratifying development in the first quarter. Compared with the prior-year period, which was still hampered by the global financial and economic crisis, sales climbed by 21.2 per cent to € 2,686 million (Q1 2010: € 2,216 million). EBITDA of materialscience climbed by 24.1 per cent to € 345 million (Q1 2010: € 278 million).
Following the successful start to 2011, Bayer is raising its sales and earnings forecast for the full year, largely on account of the good start to the season at cropscience. For the full year 2011, the Bayer group is targeting a currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales increase of between 5 and 7 per cent (previously: between 4 and 6 per cent). This corresponds to group sales of between € 36 and € 37 billion (previously: between € 35 and € 36 billion). Bayer aims to increase EBITDA before special items to more than € 7.5 billion (previously: toward € 7.5 billion). Core earnings per share are expected to improve by about 15 per cent (previously: about 10 per cent).
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