New boss but Bayer's battles go on

German life sciences major Bayer (BAYN: DE) has confirmed its group outlook for 2023 after posting third-quarter figures that were down against the previous year.

Sales slipped by a worrying 8% to 10.34 billion euros ($11.03 billion) while third-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and adjusted for one-off effects fell 31% to 1.69 billion euros, hit by lower earnings at its crop science division. This compared with analysts' average forecast of 1.73 billion euros. Pharmaceuticals Division sales were level, at 4.54 billion euros.

"We’re not happy with this year’s performance. Nearly 50 billion euros in revenue but zero cash flow is simply not acceptable"The group made a quarterly net loss of 4.57 billion euros against a profit of 546 million euros a year earlier. Impairment charges at the crop science unit due to higher interest rates contributed to this.