Bayer boss blasts Brexit, protectionism and emotion-driven politics

The chief executive of German pharma major Bayer (BAYN: DE) did not hold back in expressing his views on the year’s politics developments as he presented his company’s annual results for the first time.

Werner Baumann (pictured above), who has been in Bayer’s top job since May 2016, said the company remained optimistic about its economic future as he predicted a low to mid-single-digit percentage rise in revenue for 2017.

But he stressed during the press conference at the company’s Leverkusen headquarters: “Our long-term success is highly dependent on the political and societal environment in which we operate.”