Bayer, the German chemicals firm long plagued by problems with its glyphosate-based weedkillers, posted an unexpected second-quarter loss on Tuesday, driven by weak performance in its agrochemicals sector.
While the group’s sales increased by 3.1% to 11.1 billion euros ($12.1 billion), profitability fell “primarily due to an unfavourable product mix,” according to a statement.
After two profitable quarters, the German behemoth is back in the red with a 34 million euro loss.
Analysts polled by financial data firm FactSet predicted a 71 million euro profit.
Bayer’s agricultural sales climbed by 1.1 percent, owing primarily to greater sales of glyphosate-based herbicides, particularly in North America.
However, the company suffered a loss of 229 million euros due to what group CEO Bill Anderson described as a “challenging agricultural market environment”.
The company’s earnings estimates for 2024 remain unchanged.
Bayer has been troubled in recent years by enormous lawsuit difficulties over the Roundup weedkiller, which it inherited when it acquired US business Monsanto in 2018.
The group has faced a slew of litigation in the United States over concerns that Roundup, which contains the key component glyphosate, causes cancer. Bayer denies the claim, but has incurred billions of euros in legal fees.
Bayer lost 1.8 billion euros in the second quarter of 2023, which was attributed in part to glyphosate business reductions.
Anderson, who was hired last year to help steer the struggling firm in a new path, plans to save two billion euros per year beginning in 2026.