German agrochemical giant Bayer loses billions

German agrochemical giant Bayer said on Tuesday it made a loss of €3.62 billion last year as it had to cover extra costs linked to claims that its popular herbicide causes blood cancer.

The company made a loss of 2.55 billion euros in 2024. „Bayer“ stated that this was mainly due to „high special litigation costs“.

„Bayer“ has already spent more than €10 billion on the first half of 2011. Bayer has spent USD 10 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits related to the herbicide „Roundup“ since it acquired its manufacturer US agrochemical group „Monsanto“ in 2018.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers glyphosate, one of the ingredients in „Roundup“, to be a probable carcinogen in humans, but „Bayer“ says scientific studies and approvals from US and European Union regulators show the herbicide is safe.

Last month, „Bayer“ announced that some 67,000 cases are still pending and unveiled a proposed class action settlement to end the costly legal battles.

It also announced in February that it had set aside €11.8 billion for litigation costs in September 2025, up from €7.8 billion previously set aside.

While „Bayer“ expects sales and earnings to remain broadly stable in the coming year, it nevertheless said cash flow was affected by compensation payments.

„Bayer“'s underlying profit, which strips out certain expenses including taxes and litigation costs, fell 4.5 percent to 9.67 billion euros, partly due to exchange rate changes.