Bayer AG (BAYN.XE) said Tuesday that earnings fell sharply in the third quarter, in part as a result of a one-off gain booked in the prior year, while the number of glyphosate-related lawsuits it faces rose. Aftertax profit at the German chemical maker was 2.89 billion euros ($3.26 billion) compared with EUR3.88 billion a year earlier. Sales rose to EUR9.91 billion from EUR8.03 billion a year earlier, the company said. Bayer booked pretax gains of EUR3.12 billion from the sale of several crop-science assets to BASF SE (BAS.XE), leading earnings before interest and taxes to more than triple to EUR4.42 billion, the company said. The German chemical and pharmaceutical group said 9,300 plaintiffs have now brought lawsuits over glyphosate-based weedkillers made by the recently acquired Monsanto group, compared with 8,700 at the end of August. "We continue to believe that we have meritorious defenses and intend to defend ourselves vigorously in all of these lawsuits," Chief Executive Werner Baumann said.
German chemical maker Bayer saw its earnings slow in Q3 2018, partly due to a one-off gain in 2017 and reported after-tax profits of €2.89bn ($3.27bn), compared with €3.88bn the year before. Sales for the quarter increased to €9.91bn, up from €8.03bn a year earlier, while pre-tax gains for the sale of several crop science assets to BASF were €3.12bn. Meanwhile, lawsuits against newly-acquired Monsanto's glyphosate-based weedkiller have grown to 9,300, but CEO Werner Baumann has said the company will vigorously defend itself due to its meritorious defences.