Ouch: Bayer takes €9bn impairment charge hit
German life sciences giant Bayer this morning said that it would take a €9bn (£8.4bn) impairment charge in the third quarter.
It also said that it would have to make additional payments as part of its settlement against claims that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
As a result, the pharma firm reported a €9.4bn loss after tax for the period.
Bayer said that the impairment charge was mainly predicated on huge pressure on its agricultural business due to the pandemic.
“The impact of the (coronavirus) pandemic is placing additional strain on our Crop Science Division. We are also facing negative currency effects”, said finance chief Wolfgang Nickl.
Back in August the company said that it had already paid out $10.9bn in legal costs due to ongoing lawsuits against Roundup.
But because a judge took issue against one section of the class agreement Bayer will now pay an additional $750m.
“Bayer took an additional provision in the third quarter to cover the increased cost of a revised class plan, as it is far enough along in the negotiations to know that the new plan will come in at approximately $2bn, an increase over the original cost of $1.25bn”, it said in a statement.