Bayer AG (BYR.L, BAYRY.PK, BAYZF.PK) Thursday posted 11.5 percent higher first-quarter net income of 1.16 billion euros, compared with last year's 1.04 billion euros, with corresponding per-share earnings rising 11.1% year-over-year to 1.40 euros, from 1.26 euros. Quarterly core earnings per share advanced by 1.8 percent to 1.70 euros, from 1.67 euros a year back.
Earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT went up 8.6 percent to 1.77 billion euros, from 1.63 billion euros, while EBITDA before special items was in level with the year-ago period at 2.45 billion euros.
Quarterly sales of the Bayer Group totaled 10.27 billion euros, up 2.1 percent from the prior-year figure of 10.05 billion euros. Adjusted for currency and portfolio effects, business expanded by 3.7 percent.
For 2013, the company still expects Group sales to increase by 4 to 5 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to about 41 billion euros, based on unchanged currency assumptions. As before, Bayer plans to increase EBITDA before special items by a mid-single-digit percentage and core earnings per share by a high-single-digit percentage.
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