Bayer, the German drugmaker trying to acquire U.S. seed company Monsanto, surpassed second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its guidance for the year as strong gains in stroke prevention pill Xarelto offset sluggish farming pesticides markets.
Second-quarter profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, gained 5.7 percent to 3.05 billion euros ($3.35 billion), above the average estimate of 2.90 billion in a Reuters poll among analysts.
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Bayer, the inventor of aspirin and maker of Yasmin birth control pills, said it now expected EBITDA before special items to increase by a high-single-digit percentage, where it had previously seen a mid-single-digit gain.
Xarelto, which competes in blood clot prevention with Bristol Myers-Squibb and Pfizer's Eliquis, saw sales jumped 30 percent excluding currency swings to 703 million euros, well above expectations.