Bayer AG expects 2005 earnings to have doubled

German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer has said it expects full earnings for 2005 to be double that seen the year before.

The company was forced to produce the figures after Capital magazine had obtained documents claiming the firm was to report group net income of 1.8 million euros.

Instead, Bayer said that the firm was expecting net income of 1.6 billion euros (?1 billion), up on 2004’s 685 million euros.

It added that the firm’s supervisory board will decide on Thursday on the level of dividend to offer to shareholders. Bayer’s management will recommend 0.95 euros, not the 0.90 euros reported by Capital.

“Bayer regrets that working documents of corporate management have been made public,” the firm said in a statement. “These are planning documents that are used solely for internal working purposes.”

“Internal planning data of this nature must never be viewed as concrete expectations, estimates or forecasts of the company. Generally speaking, planning data are based on various assumptions? which significantly influence actual performance.”

Bayer is due to give full details on its 2005 performance at a news conference next Monday, while the dividend proposal is expected to be released on Thursday.

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