Bayer has continued its positive business development in the second quarter of 2014, reporting group sales growth of 0.9% to €10.46bn. EBITDA before special items increased by 1% to €2.22bn.
'Our Life Science businesses, in particular, saw unabated growth momentum, with very encouraging sales gains for our recently launched pharmaceutical products,' said Chairman Marijn Dekkers.
Although earnings growth was again held back by substantial negative currency effects, these were offset by good business development, the German healthcare giant said.
Pharmaceuticals rose by 10% to €2.96bn, driven by recently launched products. These include the anticoagulant Xarelto, the eye medicine Eylea, the cancer drugs Stivarga and Xofigo, and Adempas to treat pulmonary hypertension, which posted combined sales of €702m (Q2 2013: €339m). Xarelto alone achieved currency- sales growth of 79.3%, the company said.
Among the established pharmaceutical products, business with Aspirin Cardio for secondary prevention of heart attacks improved by 8.9% (Fx adj.).
Sales of the cancer drug Nexavar rose by 3.4% (Fx adj.) but blood-clotting medicine Kogenate sales fell by 16.8% (Fx adj.), mainly due to shortages caused by the use of production capacities to develop Bayer's next-generation haemophilia medicines.
Business with the multiple sclerosis drug Betaferon/Betaseron also fell, by 15.8% (Fx adj.), held back mainly by increased competition in the US.
Sales increases in the US for the YAZ/Yasmin/Yasminelle oral contraceptives only partly offset the declines in Western Europe, which were attributable to generic competition. Sales of these products were down by 3.3% (Fx adj.) overall.
The Bayer Group grew both sales and EBITA before special items in the first half of 2014. Sales rose by 1.9% to €21.01bn (H1 2013: €20.6bn). EBITDA before special items rose by 6.6% to €4.95bn (H1 2013: €4.65m).
'We are upholding the previous guidance for the Group in light of our good operational performance,' said Dekkers.
