Business was down in North America in particular, while sales increased in the Asia/Pacific region.
In the agricultural business (Crop Science), sales declined by 11.6 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to 3.028 billion euros. Business was down in North America in particular, while sales increased in the Asia/Pacific region. Global sales at Corn Seed & Traits fell by 39.9 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with substantial declines in North America in particular due to higher product returns and lower license revenues arising from lower than anticipated planted acreages for corn this year. At Herbicides, sales declined by 12.7 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) against the strong prior-year quarter. Business was primarily down in the North America region, where sales in the prior year had shifted into the third quarter due to extreme weather conditions in the first half of the year.
Sales at Soybean Seed & Traits were level with the prior-year period (Fx & portfolio adj. plus 0.2 percent), with growth in Latin America offsetting lower volumes in North America. Sales at Fungicides advanced by 12.0 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with growth across all regions. In Latin America, Bayer primarily benefited from the market switching to the Fox Xpro™ product in Brazil.
EBITDA before special items at Crop Science decreased to minus 34 million euros (Q3 2019: plus 500 million euros). The decline was mainly due to the decrease in sales in North America, which was primarily attributable to the developments relating to product returns. There was also a negative currency effect of 123 million euros.
In October there was some encouraging news from the United States, with the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing a new five-year registration for the dicamba-based XtendiMax™ herbicide with VaporGrip™ Technology, an important weed-control tool for many U.S. growers. The news puts an end to the uncertainty following a U.S. court decision in June that prohibited the use of dicamba.
Summarizing the company’s business performance, Chief Financial Officer Wolfgang Nickl said: “We saw a challenging quarter in our agricultural business, a recovery in our pharmaceuticals business and strong growth at Consumer Health.” Employee safety during the pandemic remains a top priority for Bayer. The company has implemented a wide range of protective measures to ensure that it can continue to provide patients, farmers and consumers with a reliable supply of products, especially life-saving medicines.
