On April 28 at the Bayer virtual annual stockholder’s meeting in Leverkusen, Germany, CEO Werner Baumann said despite the difficulties faced in 2022, Bayer has strengthened its position, according to a release.
“We now need to build on these strong foundations and set the course for future growth,” Baumann said at the meeting. “The need is huge. With business activities that lead the way and are growing worldwide, immense power to innovate, and innovative products and technologies. With highly motivated and creative minds who have lots of good ideas. And with an excellent leadership team.”
Through the pandemic and increasing geopolitical tensions, like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have caused a great deal of upheaval — including an energy crisis, high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks — Baumann said Bayer has been affected less than other companies.
“Bayer’s currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales increased by around 9% to 50.7 billion euros. EBITDA before special items came in at 13.5 billion euros, up 21 percent year on year, and core earnings per share rose by 22% to 7.94 euros. The board of management and the supervisory board therefore proposed that the dividend be increased by 20% to 2.40 euros per share,” the release reports.
“Bayer has excellent prospects for the future,” Baumann said, adding that he’s very certain that this outstanding company still has its best years ahead of it.
In addition, Bayer welcomed Bill Anderson, Bayer’s CCEO-elect who joined the board of management at the beginning of April. Baumann will retire at the end of May after 35 years of service.
“In my opinion, Bill is the perfect choice for this role. He has an impressive track record as a top innovation-oriented manager and a business developer, and is also a strong leader,” Baumann said. “Bayer has always been more than just an employer to me. Bayer is very close to my heart, for me, it has always been a pleasure and also an honor to be part of the Bayer team and to work together on a vision that could hardly be greater or more inspiring: health for all, hunger for none.”
