The FINANCIAL -- Tokyo/Leverkusen,
October 5, 2011 – The Bayer Group plans to expand its business in Japan
– despite the difficult conditions following the earthquake and tsunami
disaster – and continue to grow sales in the coming years.
"Japan has been and continues to be one of the world’s most attractive markets for Bayer," said Dr. Marijn Dekkers, Chairman of the Board of Management, at a news conference held Wednesday to mark the centennial of Bayer's Japanese subsidiary.
In the first six months of 2011, Bayer had sales of more than EUR 1 billion in Japan – a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent after adjusting for currency and portfolio effects. Sales for the full year 2010 came to nearly EUR 2 billion. Dekkers predicted further growth in light of the dynamic market environment: "Over the next five years we plan to grow by an average of about 6 percent a year – after adjusting for currency and portfolio effects – and raise sales to around EUR 2.4 billion by 2015." He also said spending on research and development in Japan is to continue at a high level, totaling more than EUR 500 million over the same period.
Pharmaceuticals account for the largest share of Bayer's business in Japan, where the company currently has 28 products in Phase II or III clinical studies. Bayer has also submitted applications to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for marketing approval for Xarelto® (rivaroxaban) in the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and for VEGF Trap-Eye for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
In the crop protection business, too, Bayer expects positive development in Japan from new products such as the herbicide InnovaTrio, which was launched in March. It also has two insecticide-fungicide combination products under development that are effective in rice and are scheduled for market introduction before the end of this year.
Business of the MaterialScience subgroup in Japan is also developing favorably in view of rising demand for high-performance construction and insulating materials, especially following the earthquake, and the resumption of growth in automotive production.
Dekkers: Japan has good perspectives for the future
This year marks the the 100th anniversary of Bayer's subsidiary in Japan. While Bayer dyestuffs had been sold there since 1886, the official establishment of "Friedrich Bayer & Co. Japan" took place in 1911. Dekkers emphasized Japan's importance for the Group's global business: "Japan is more than just a market to us. This country is known for its strong innovative drive, which has been a constant inspiration to us over the years and has contributed significantly to the development of our global business."
Dekkers also voiced great respect for the way the Japanese people and the country's 3,700 Bayer employees have addressed the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami disaster in March. He expressed his optimism for Japan's future: "I am convinced that Japan will not only recover but will emerge from the disaster even stronger than before."
Donation for long-term reconstruction project announced
At the end of the news conference, Dekkers announced that the Bayer Cares Foundation will provide EUR 700,000 for a long-term reconstruction project. Bayer employees worldwide donated EUR 300,000 for the victims of the Japanese earthquake shortly after the disaster, and the company added a further EUR 250,000. Bayer also decided to scale down its planned 100th-anniversary celebrations in view of the events in March and donate the saving of EUR 150,000 to the relief effort as well. The total amount of EUR 700,000 is now to be made available for a long-term reconstruction project in the earthquake zone.
In addition, Bayer provided extensive emergency aid immediately after the earthquake, first donating EUR 880,000 to the Japanese Red Cross to assist particularly hard-hit communities or individuals in coping with the damage. In addition, the company provided the Japanese health authorities with urgently needed health care products worth a total of EUR 700,000. Bayer's relief aid to Japan now totals nearly EUR 2.3 million.
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