Bayer, a producer of polymers and high-performance plastics, has reported a fall in the net income for the first quarter of 2009 by 44% to E425m compared to first quarter of 2008. Group sales for the first quarter declined by 7.5% to E7895m compared to E8536m for the same quarter prior year.
HealthCare subgroup reported an increase in the sales by 3.0% to E3843m compared to prior years first quarter of E3731m. In the Pharmaceuticals segment, first-quarter sales for 2009 increased by 4.8% to E2587m. In the Consumer Health segment, the sale was at par with the prior year, at E1256m.
Bayer CropScience had a very pleasing first quarter, said the company. This segment reported an increase in the sales by 7.2% to E21200m for the first quarter, due to higher selling prices and increase in volumes. The Crop Protection business, reported a Q1 increase in sales by 6.9% to E1734m. The reported increase is due to strong increase particularly for herbicides and fungicides.
For the first quarter 2009, MaterialScience segment showed a decrease in sales by 34.9% to E1636m compared to prior years first quarter of E2512m. The global economic crisis led to considerably weaker demand in the relevant customer industries. Sales of the Polycarbonates unit also fell sharply by 39.3%. The drop in volume sales and selling prices were accompanied by significantly lower capacity utilization at the production facilities of MaterialScience.
Werner Wenning, management board chairman, said: “While CropScience and Pharmaceuticals continued on a path of growth, the slump in business at MaterialScience also left a distinct mark on sales and earnings of the Bayer Group.” He also added: “The first signs of a modest recovery in demand are appearing.”