Bayer HealthCare reports strong growth during Q3 2014

Bayer HealthCare's strong performance in the third quarter of 2014 helped the Bayer group as a whole to experience a successful three-month period.

The group's sales for the quarter came to 10.19 billion euros (8.0 billion pounds), up by 5.6 percent year over year, with the HealthCare division contributing 4.96 billion euros to this total. The business saw a 4.6 percent improvement in its performance.

Demand for recently-launched pharmaceutical products helped to drive this momentum, including key drugs like Xarelto, Eylea, Stivarga, Xofigo and Adempas. Meanwhile, sales in the consumer health segment rose by 2.4 percent to 1.92 billion euros.

The group is currently planning to become an entirely life science-focused organisation, with its MaterialScience division to be floated on the stock market as a separate company by mid-2016 at the latest.

Bayer management board chairman Dr Marijn Dekkers said: "We are confident that this strategic decision is good for both Bayer and MaterialScience and will allow both companies to create value in the long term, resulting in two global champions."

The organisation bolstered its life science capabilities further by closing a deal to purchase Merck Sharp and Dohme's consumer care division for $14.2 billion (8.87 billion pounds) earlier this month.