BAYER

Bayer is a German multinational pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer’s areas of business include human and veterinary pharmaceuticals; consumer healthcare products; agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products.

The company has a history dating back to 1863 when it was founded as a dyestuffs factory by Friedrich Bayer and his partner, Johann Friedrich Weskott, a master dyer. Fuchsine and aniline became the company’s most important products.

In 1978 Bayer purchased Miles Laboratories and its subsidiaries Miles Canada and Cutter Laboratories, acquiring along with them a variety of product lines including Alka-Seltzer, Flintstones vitamins and One-A-Day vitamins, and Cutter insect repellent.

In 1994 Bayer purchased Sterling Winthrop’s over-the-counter (OTC) drug business from SmithKline Beecham and merged it with Miles Laboratories, thereby reclaiming the U.S. and Canadian trademark rights to “Bayer” and the Bayer cross, as well as the ownership of the Aspirin trademark in Canada (these had been confiscated by the US during the Second World War.)

In 2004, Bayer HealthCare acquired the over-the-counter pharmaceutical division of Roche.

In March 2008 Bayer HealthCare announced an agreement to acquire the portfolio and OTC division of privately owned Sagmel, Inc., a US-based company that markets OTC medications in most of the Commonwealth of Independent States countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and others.

In 2003, to separate operational and strategic managements, Bayer was reorganized into a holding company. The group’s core businesses were transformed into limited companies, each controlled by Bayer.

These companies were: Bayer CropScience AG; Bayer HealthCare AG; Bayer MaterialScience AG and Bayer Chemicals AG, and the three service limited companies Bayer Technology Services GmbH, Bayer Business Services GmbH and Bayer Industry Services GmbH & Co. OHG.

In 2016, the company began a second restructuring with the aim of allowing it to transition to a life sciences based company. By divesting its Chemicals division in 2004 and with the aim of off-loading its Materials division by mid-2016, Bayer was left with three core units.

In February 2025 Bayer announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to transfer a large part of its Berlin-based small molecule research unit to Nuvisan ICB GmbH, Neu-Ulm, Germany. The Nuvisan group is an international service provider for clinical studies, laboratory services and contract manufacturing for the pharmaceuticals industry. The agreement will support Bayer’s increased focus on the flexibility and productivity of its R&D operating model.

Bayer is a Life Science company with a more than 150-year history and core competencies in the areas of health care and agriculture. With its innovative products, the company is contributing to finding solutions to some of the major challenges of this time.

The company works to improve quality of life for a growing population by focusing its research and development activities on preventing, alleviating and treating diseases. The company is also making an important contribution to providing a reliable supply of high-quality food, feed and plant-based raw materials.

The Bayer Group is managed as a life science company with three divisions – Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Crop Science, which are also its reporting segments. The Enabling Functions support the operational business. In 2019, the Bayer Group comprised 392 consolidated companies in 87 countries.

The company’s Pharmaceuticals division focuses on prescription products, especially for cardiology and women’s healthcare, and on specialty therapeutics in the areas of oncology, haematology and ophthalmology. The division also comprises the radiology business, which markets diagnostic imaging equipment together with the necessary contrast agents.

The company’s Consumer Health division markets mainly non-prescription products in the dermatology, nutritional supplement, analgesic, digestive health, cold, allergy, sinus and flu categories.

The company’s Crop Science division is a world-leading agriculture enterprise with businesses in seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The Crop Protection / Seeds operating unit markets a broad portfolio of high-value seeds and innovative pest management solutions, while at the same time providing extensive customer service for sustainable agriculture.

As such, the company creates value with strategy-based resource allocation focused on profitable growth. The company positions itself in attractive areas, in which it can achieve leading positions.

To this end, the company innovates at scale to address unmet societal challenges in health and nutrition, and broadens its sources of good ideas, drives disruptive innovation and pushes the digitalization of its value chain.

Bayer trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange where investors can buy shares under the stock symbol – BAYN

Data from the company’s 2025 financial analysis of its fiscal first quarter results shows Group sales rose by 6.0% to € 12 845 million, of which Germany accounted for € 743 million.

Crop Science posted a 5.7% sales increase to € 6 834 million, with all regions contributing to growth.

Sales at Pharmaceuticals advanced by 3.9% to € 4 546 million, mainly due to the sales gains for Xarelto™.

Consumer Health grew sales by 13.5% to € 1 398 million, driven primarily by a substantial increase in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Group EBITDA before special items rose by 10.2% to € 4 391 million. This figure included a positive currency effect of € 41 million.

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science moved ahead by 13.5% to € 2 611 million, mainly due to higher volumes.

All in all, Bayer has demonstrated a resilient financial performance which should result in healthy dividends and a rising share price for investors who choose to purchase shares today, securing a solid buy-in in 2025 and in the future.

At Pharmaceuticals, EBITDA before special items advanced by 7.3% to € 1 594 million, largely as a result of the good development of business. EBITDA before special items at Consumer Health rose by 3.8% to €301 million, with an increase in sales standing against higher marketing expenses and other factors.

Earnings per share (total) increased to €1.52 in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2019: €1.27). Core earnings per share from continuing operations rose by 9.9% to €2.67 (Q1 2019: €2.43).

As such, the company’s business activities were greatly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2025. With its product portfolio in health and nutrition, Bayer has shown its ability to successfully continue its business operations and deliver a positive contribution for its stakeholders even in a challenging environment.

While the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to higher sales at some business units due to a substantial increase in demand caused in part by inventory build-up, the restrictions related to the pandemic are having an adverse impact on parts of the company’s business.

Due to certain implemented measures, the company has been able to maintain its business operations throughout the world, especially in production and logistics. Bayer also provided substantial support in areas affected by COVID-19, such as through donations of money, medicines and medical supplies and the provision of testing equipment from its laboratories.

Health Care

Biotech and Pharma

Large Pharma

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• Can I buy Bayer shares in South Africa?
  Yes, you can.

• How to buy Bayer shares
  By simply opening a free account on SA Shares, or by clicking the “Buy this Share” button to get started.

• What is the current share price?
  By clicking on the link provided above, you can view the real-time Bayer share price on the platform.

• Is Bayer a good share to buy?
  Yes, Bayer has demonstrated resilient growth during the economic downturn resulting from the covid-19 pandemic, and demand for its portfolio of products is rising steadily as a result of the pandemic.

• Can I buy Bayer CFD through SA Shares?
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