Sales of the Bayer Group rose by 5.6 percent in the third quarter of 2014 to EUR 10,187 million (Q3 2013: EUR 9,643 million). Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects (Fx & portfolio adj.), sales grew by 7.4 percent. EBIT rose by 12.7 percent to EUR 1,376 million (Q3 2013: EUR 1,221 million). Net special items were plus EUR 45 million (Q3 2013: minus EUR 99 million) and reflected a one-time gain of EUR 80 million from the divestiture of the Interventional device business. EBIT before special items rose by 0.8 percent compared with the prior-year quarter to EUR 1,331 million (Q3 2013: EUR 1,320 million). EBITDA before special items improved by 1.4 percent to EUR 2,011 million (Q3 2013: EUR 1,984 million) after additional R&D and selling expenses, amounting to roughly EUR 90 million each, and negative currency effects of about EUR 80 million or approximately minus 4 percent. Net income advanced by 12.7 percent to EUR 826 million (Q3 2013: EUR 733 million), and core earnings per share by 6.3 percent to EUR 1.35 (Q3 2013: EUR 1.27).
Gross cash flow rose by 9.1 percent to EUR 1,492 million (Q3 2013: EUR 1,367 million) due to the improvement in EBITDA, while net cash flow moved ahead by 5.1 percent to EUR 1,816 million (Q3 2013: EUR 1,728 million). Net financial debt declined from EUR 9.9 billion on June 30, 2014, to EUR 8.5 billion on September 30, 2014, largely as a result of cash inflows from operating activities.
In the HealthCare business, sales increased by 4.6 percent (Fx & portfolio adj. 7.1 percent) in the third quarter to EUR 4,960 million (Q3 2013: EUR 4,742 million). "This growth continued to be driven by our recently launched pharmaceutical products," explained Dekkers. Sales at Consumer Health came in slightly ahead of the prior-year period (Fx & portfolio adj). Business again developed very positively in the Emerging Markets.
Sales of the Pharmaceuticals business rose by a substantial 10.3 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to EUR 3,039 million. All regions contributed to this increase, with particularly encouraging development in the United States, China and Germany. The anticoagulant Xarelto™, the eye medicine Eylea™, the cancer drugs Stivarga™ and Xofigo™, and the pulmonary hypertension drug Adempas™ achieved total sales of EUR 750 million (Q3 2013: EUR 407 million). Among the established pharmaceutical products, the hormone-releasing intrauterine devices of the Mirena™ product family posted the strongest growth, with sales advancing by a currency-adjusted (Fx adj.) 26.5 percent. Sales of Aspirin™ Cardio for secondary prevention of heart attacks advanced by 13.3 percent (Fx adj.). On the other hand, business with the multiple sclerosis drug Betaferon™/Betaseron™ declined by 12.5 percent (Fx adj.), again held back partly by increased competition in the United States. Sales of the blood-clotting medicine Kogenate™ receded 6.1 percent (Fx adj.) against a strong prior-year quarter. Capacity shortages persisted due to the use of production capacities to develop the next-generation hemophilia medicines.
Sales in the Consumer Health segment rose by 2.4 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to EUR 1,921 million. This increase was driven by the Consumer Care and Animal Health divisions. In Consumer Care, the analgesics Aleve™ and Aspirin™ posted strong gains of 14.2 percent (Fx adj.) and 6.5 percent (Fx adj.) respectively. The Bepanthen™/ Bepanthol™ skincare product also performed very well, with sales up by 11.7 percent (Fx adj.). By contrast, business with the dietary supplement One A Day™ was held back mainly by lower volumes in the United States, falling 10.7 percent (Fx adj.) against the prior-year period. Sales of the Medical Care Division again receded, largely on account of declines in the Diabetes Care business in the United States and in Germany. In the Animal Health Division, sales of the Seresto™ flea and tick collar in Europe developed particularly well.
"The strong upward trend in the Life Science businesses - HealthCare and CropScience - persisted in the third quarter. We saw robust sales growth for our recently launched pharmaceutical products and in our CropScience business in North and Latin America," Bayer Management Board Chairman Dr. Marijn Dekkers commented when the interim report was released on Thursday. Sales of MaterialScience also posted an encouraging increase, he said. Bayer achieved a slight improvement in EBITDA before special items despite high investment and negative currency effects. Bayer made good progress in the third quarter not just operationally, but also strategically, Dekkers said, pointing to the planned flotation of MaterialScience on the stock market and the successful acquisition of the consumer care business of Merck & Co., Inc. In view of the strong operational performance and including the consumer care business acquired from Merck & Co., Inc. and the current currency assumptions, Bayer raised its guidance for 2014.
About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 18.9 billion (2013), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 56,000 employees (Dec 31, 2013) and is represented in more than 100 countries.