Bayer warns of difficult year ahead after 2024 loss

German chemicals giant Bayer on Wednesday reported another significant loss and said it was facing a difficult year before it would be able to turn the corner.

CEO Bill Anderson said in a statement that 2025 was a “pivotal year”, adding that the group had “work to do” before its results started improving.

In 2024, the Leverkusen-based group recorded a net loss of 2.6 billion euros ($2.7 billion), after recording a 2.9-billion-euro loss in the previous year.

Analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet had expected a smaller 2024 loss of around 1.5 billion euros. Sales fell by 2.2 percent over the year to 46.6 billion euros.

The pain was felt particularly in Bayer’s agrochemicals division, which has been dogged by problems since 2018’s troubled takeover of rival Monsanto.

Sales for the unit, adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, fell some two percent to 22.3 billion euros.

In the pharmaceuticals division, by contrast, sales were up 3.3 percent to 18.1 billion euros.

Overall, the group’s operating profit (EBITDA), a closely watched measure of underlying performance, fell by 14 percent to 10.1 billion euros.

With Germany’s chemicals industry in trouble, Bayer has launched a large-scale restructuring programme, seeking two billion euros in savings each year from 2026.

In 2024, Bayer cut some 7,000 jobs worldwide, most of them in management positions and equivalent to around 500 million euros in savings, according to the group.

The chemicals giant hopes to make another 800 million in savings in 2025, it said.

The current financial year would be the “the most difficult in terms of financial performance”, Bayer said, anticipating a potential drop in revenue.

Bayer estimated 2025 sales could drop by up to three percent compared with 2024. A gentle increase in revenues of around one percent was the best the group anticipated.

Operating profit was also expected to fall to between 9.5 and 10 billion euros.