Bayer AG (DE:BAYGN)’s (OTC:BAYRY) fourth-quarter 2019 core earnings per share of 36 cents per American Depositary Receipt (ADR) increased 20% year over year. Core earnings per ADR also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 34 cents per share.
Total sales in the quarter were $11.9 billion, up slightly from $11.8 billion in the year-ago quarter. The growth was driven by higher sales across segments, namely Crop Science, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health.
In August 2019, the company entered into an agreement with Elanco (NYSE:ELAN) to divest the Animal Health business. It also agreed to sell a 60% stake in Germany-based site services provider, Currenta, to a company controlled by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets in the same month. Bayer reported these two businesses under discontinued operations in the third quarter of 2019. During the year, the company also divested Dr. Scholl’s and Coppertone brands.
Shares of the company have decreased 1.2% in the past year against the industry’s 8.3% growth.
All the growth rates mentioned below are on a year-over-year basis, and after adjusting for currency and portfolio changes.
Quarter Highlights
The company started reporting under three segments — Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health and Crop Science — from the quarter under review.
In the reported quarter, Crop Science sales were €4,652 million, down 0.2% from the year-ago quarter.
Revenues at the Pharmaceuticals segment increased 9.1% to €4,682 million in the fourth quarter.
Consumer Health sales were up 0.5% year over year to €1,337 million in the fourth quarter.
2019 Results
The company’score earnings per share were $7.17 per share, up from $6.62 in 2018
Its revenues came in at $48.77 billion, up from $43.41 billion in 2018.
2020 Guidance
Bayer expects currency-adjusted sales from continuing operations to amount to €44-€45 billion. This corresponds to an increase of about 3-4% on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis.
Core earnings per share are expected to increase between €7.00 and €7.20 on a currency-adjusted basis.
Bayer Aktiengesellschaft Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Bayer Aktiengesellschaft price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Bayer Aktiengesellschaft Quote
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Bayer currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks from the healthcare space include Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) . While Pfizer sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Novartis carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Pfizer’s earnings per share estimates for 2020 have moved up from $2.67 to $2.77 in the past 90 days. The company delivered a four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 7.46%, on average.
Novartis’ earnings per share estimates have moved up from $5.67 to $5.75 for 2020 and from $6.38 to $6.48 for 2020 in the past 60 days. The company delivered a four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 6.25%, on average.
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