The German pharmaceutical group sees annual sales drop as its CEO admits the firm has four challenges that "urgently must be addressed".
ADVERTISEMENTBayer's annual financial report, released on Tuesday, showed that annual sales came in at €47.6 billion, down 6% compared to 2022.
Net financial debt over the year increased by 8.5%, recorded at €34.5 billion.
The pharmaceutical firm has long been under pressure to break up into diversified groups, a move that must now be postponed.
"Our answer is 'not now' – and this shouldn't be misunderstood as 'never'," said CEO Bill Anderson in a statement.
Anderson, who joined Bayer last year, added that the firm has four challenges that "urgently must be addressed".
Bayer is currently held back by high debt, bureaucracy, and the expected loss of exclusivity on certain drugs.
The firm is also being squeezed by expensive lawsuits related to its Roundup weed killer, which several US juries have deemed to be carcinogenic.
In 2018, Bayer purchased the maker of Roundup weed killer, Monsanto, and it is now saddled with around 54,000 outstanding legal cases as a parent company.
In an attempt to reassure shareholders, Anderson has pledged to overcome these legal issues and cut red tape within three years.
By 2026, he plans to cut €2 billion off annual expenditure, continuing a cost-cutting strategy pursued in recent months.
Bayer notably reduced its dividend by 95% in February and it announced on Tuesday that employee bonuses were cut by €1.4 billion last year.
