Bayer faces investors' impatience ahead of fourth-quarter results

By Patricia Weiss

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Bayer's CEO is facing expanding capitalist unit to present connected turnaround efforts and reverse a forecast net diminution this year, arsenic the radical prepares to merchandise quarterly results connected Wednesday.

CEO Bill Anderson is successful the mediate of cutting managerial jobs, speeding up decision-making and slashing reddish tape, and has enactment connected clasp plans to interruption up Bayer diversified businesses.

But investors are questioning whether helium is doing capable amid a plethora of problems that person dragged shares lower.

Taking the helm successful mid-2023, Anderson inherited costly U.S. litigation implicit disputed claims that Bayer's weedkiller glyphosate causes cancer. Later that year, a once-promising humor thinner flopped successful a trial, leaving a monolithic spread successful Bayer's cause improvement lineup.

Late past year, the drugs and pesticides shaper said weakness successful planetary agriculture markets, the lifeblood of Bayer's Crop Science unit, meant the net diminution was apt to widen into 2025.

"We privation to spot successes that volition really enactment the stock price," said Ingo Speich, caput of sustainability and firm governance astatine communal funds steadfast Deka, a Bayer shareholder.

"By the extremity of the year, Anderson volition person been main enforcement for astir 3 years. If a CEO cannot marque an interaction implicit specified a play of time, helium volition not beryllium the close 1 for the job," helium added.

Markus Manns, a portfolio manager astatine communal funds steadfast Union Investment, different Bayer shareholder, said Anderson had made steps successful the close direction, but the banal marketplace was waiting for more.

The upcoming fourth-quarter results "will arguably beryllium 1 of the past fewer opportunities for Bill Anderson to alteration course", said Manns.

Recent marketplace trends whitethorn supply immoderate respite, with U.S. agrichemicals steadfast Corteva past period posting a smaller fourth-quarter nonaccomplishment helped by beardown income volumes, and Germany's BASF, besides competing with Bayer successful farming products, flagging measurement gains during the 4th quarter.

But much circumstantial to Bayer, investors volition look for clues connected however severely a hold successful U.S. support of a caller procreation of soy seeds to spell with weedkiller Dicamba volition dent earnings.

Analysts connected mean expect 2025 adjusted operating income to gaffe to 9.44 cardinal euros ($9.96 billion), down from an estimated 10.0 cardinal successful 2024. For the 4th fourth of past year, they expect a 25% diminution to 2.27 billion.

Bayer's $63 cardinal acquisition of U.S. seeds and pesticides shaper Monsanto nether Anderson's predecessor successful 2018 was a semipermanent stake connected robust maturation successful farming supplies that has misfired.