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Leverkusen (dpa) - After a mixed year, the agrochemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer wants to leave the problems of past years behind.
The Leverkusen-based company want to tick off the expensive glyphosate litigation in the USA, and the prospects for the agricultural sector have recently improved significantly.
Investments in gene and cell therapies should also help keep the pharmaceutical sector on track.
CEO Werner Baumann wants to present the exact goals for this year at the balance sheet press conference today.
The glyphosate lawsuits have long weighed on Bayer's balance sheet like a millstone.
Last year there was a first big step and at the beginning of February a second agreement followed on a crucial part of the billion-dollar settlement.
However, the approval of a judge is still missing for the validity of the deal.
The agreement on alleged cancer risks of the glyphosate weed killer Roundup is about future US lawsuits.
One component is a fund from which future plaintiffs will initially receive compensation payments over the next four years.
Should the judge, in which numerous US cases are bundled, approve the new proposals, Bayer could probably close the majority of the US legal disputes that came on board with the approximately 63 billion dollar acquisition of Monsanto.
An expensive proposition: The settlement package would cost Leverkusen up to 11.6 billion dollars (almost 10 billion euros), including up to 9.6 billion dollars for existing lawsuits.
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Since the group put the money back last year and posted a high depreciation due to the difficult agricultural business in the division at the time, a loss of billions was incurred in 2020.
Group boss Baumann will announce exactly how much on Thursday.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210224-99-578003 / 2