MOSCOW (MRC) -- German drugmaker Bayer's core earnings jumped 28% in the third quarter, bolstered by sales of new drugs, the USD14 billion purchase of Merck & Co's consumer health business and positive currency effects, said Reuters.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding one-offs, rose to 2.52 billion euros (USD2.8 billion), above market predictions of 2.31 billion euros as the crop protection business fared better than expected.
Shares in Bayer gained 1.3% while Germany's blue-chip index DAX was little changed. Analysts said the CropScience division, a pesticides and seeds business, proved more resilient than feared after results at rival pesticides makers BASF, DuPont and Syngenta took a hit from a weak Brazilian market.
Bayer Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers pointed to 4-6% organic growth in some markets outside Latin America. Sales of Eylea, an injection used against a condition that is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, jumped 69 percent from a year earlier to 320 million euros in the quarter.
U.S. development partner Regeneron in August raised its 2015 sales growth estimate for injectable drug Eylea to 45-50%. Stroke prevention pill Xarelto, which competes with Bristol Myers-Squibb and Pfizer's Eliquis, posted a sales gain of 30 percent to 571 million euros.
Boosting the value of overseas sales, the dollar was up 19% year-on-year against the euro in the third quarter on average. North America accounted for 26 percent of group sales.
Bayer's non-prescription treatments revenue jumped 42% to 1.4 billion euros following the purchase of Merck & Co's consumer health business, with only 1.7% growth left after deducting the effects of that deal and of currency changes.
Bayer, which plans to sever ties with its separately listed plastics business Covestro, still expects 2015 adjusted EBITDA to grow by "a high-teens percentage", including positive currency effects of about 4%.
It lowered its 2015 revenue target to roughly 46 billion euros from 47 billion euros previously, anticipating less of a boost from currency effects than previously.
Bayer recently announced plans for a new organizational structure starting in January 2016, which will include three revised business areas: Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Crop Science.
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2014, the Group employed 118,900 people and had sales of EUR 42.2 billion.
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