For 2023, currency-adjusted sales of only €48.5 billion to €49.5 billion and adjusted operating profit (EBITDA) of €11.3 billion to €11.8 billion are now expected, the agricultural and pharmaceutical company announced yesterday.

Bayer previously expected sales to increase by 2% to 3% after adjusting for currency effects to between €51 billion and €52 billion and the underlying operating result to reach between €12.5 billion and €13.0 billion.

The first quarter of the year had already been impacted by the price declines of weed control products containing glyphosate. Additional pressure is now also exerted by lower sales due to destocking by customers and poor weather conditions.

The company has also lowered its earnings per share forecast and now expects free cash flow of "around zero euros" instead of around €3 billion. According to preliminary figures, Bayer expects sales in the second quarter to be around €11 billion and underlying earnings to be around €2.5 billion.

Bayer attributed the forecast reduction primarily to a further significant decline in sales of glyphosate-based products. The company will therefore probably have to write down sales by €2.5 billion, mainly due to the glyphosate business. In the second quarter, this is likely to lead to a group loss of around €2 billion.