German chemical giant Bayer raised its sales outlook for the year after returning to profit in third quarter 2021 against a backdrop of US lawsuits involving its Roundup weedkiller, the Times of Malta wrote on 9 November.
The company posted strong sales growth in its pharmaceutical, consumer health and crop divisions between July and September, according to the report.
“We delivered strong operational performance, with all divisions showing strong growth momentum,” Bayer chairman Werner Baumann said when presenting the company’s third-quarter results ending 30 September.
The company posted a net profit of €85M (US$97M) in the third quarter, following losses in the previous three-month period, and raised its group sales growth outlook to 7% for the year.
Bayer inherited the Roundup litigation in 2018 following its acquisition of the brand as part of its US$63bn purchase of global agrochemical company Monsanto. Since then, the company has faced a series of lawsuits by cancer patients claiming the glyphosate chemical in the weedkiller caused them to fall ill, the Times of Malta wrote.
The company has always insisted that scientific studies and regulatory approvals show that Roundup’s main ingredient glyphosate is safe.
Bayer has set aside billions of dollars to cover the cost of the lawsuits, according to the Times of Malta report.
