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Investing.com -- Bayer (ETR:BAYGN) shares surged more than 10% on Tuesday after the German healthcare and agriculture group delivered stronger-than-expected first-quarter results and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
Bayer (OTC:BAYRY) posted net income of €1.30 billion, down 35.1% from the prior year, with core earnings per share falling 11.7% to €2.49 in Q1.
While profitability declined, group sales came in at €13.74 billion, flat on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis, but roughly 2% ahead of consensus estimates.
Operating performance was notably stronger than expected, with EBITDA before special items reaching €4.09 billion, up 9% versus consensus forecasts.
The gains were driven by strength in the pharmaceuticals division, where new product launches continued to gain traction.
Bayer’s pharmaceuticals unit stood out as a key growth engine in the quarter, with sales rising 4.1% to €4.55 billion. Prostate cancer drug Nubeqa generated €515 million in revenue, coming in 16% above analyst estimates, while kidney disease treatment Kerendia reported €161 million in sales, 18% ahead of forecasts.
Though legacy product Xarelto continued to decline under pressure from generics, the division delivered EBITDA before special items of €1.34 billion, 24% above consensus. Margin performance was also strong, expanding by 210 basis points year-on-year.
The crop science business, while facing continued regulatory and pricing pressure, held up better than feared.
Sales in the division declined 3.3% to €7.58 billion, slightly below consensus, as lower herbicide volumes and distribution shifts weighed on results.
However, adjusted EBITDA of €2.56 billion exceeded expectations, supported by early-season sales and improved cost discipline. Margins contracted by 230 basis points, reflecting a more challenging environment.
Alongside its results, Bayer maintained its full-year guidance for 2025 at constant exchange rates.
The company continues to expect group sales growth of between minus 3% and plus 1%, and EBITDA before special items in the range of €9.5 billion to €10 billion. Core earnings per share are still seen at between €4.50 and €5.
However, the group did update its reported financial targets to reflect a more negative foreign exchange impact than previously assumed.
Bayer now expects FX to drag down reported sales by around 1%, putting the full-year sales forecast at €44.5 billion to €46.5 billion.
Reported EBITDA before special items is now expected between €9.2 billion and €9.7 billion, reflecting a three-percentage-point FX headwind, up from a previously expected two-point drag. Core EPS guidance was also trimmed to €4.25 to €4.75 when including FX effects.
The company also maintained its outlook for full-year free cash flow, expecting between €1.3 billion and €2.3 billion. Net debt is now seen falling to a range of €30.5 billion to €31.5 billion by year-end, a slight improvement from previous guidance.
Analysts responded positively to the update. J.P. Morgan noted that the Q1 numbers were materially ahead of expectations, particularly in the pharmaceuticals segment, and said it expects shares to outperform.
Jefferies described the pharma beat as “well ahead,” with Crop Science also faring better than feared. Both brokerages welcomed the reiteration of full-year guidance despite currency pressure.