By Ludwig Burger and Patricia Weiss
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German drugs and pesticides group Bayer (DE:BAYGn) reported a 9.5 billion euro ($11.2 billion) net loss for the second quarter, following a $10.9 billion settlement of U.S. lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.
The charges stemmed mainly from agreements which attempted to wrap up legal disputes inherited with its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto (NYSE:MON) in 2018, including settlements on dicamba, another weedkiller, and on waste water contaminated with PCB.
But it also included reserves for birth-control device Essure as talks over potential settlements "have intensified which made good progress in recent weeks," Bayer said, adding that it stood by the device's safety and efficacy.
Litigations charges of 1.25 billion euros at the pharmaceuticals unit for the quarter were mainly for funds set aside for the Essure litigation.
As of July 24, 32,000 U.S. users of Essure had brought lawsuits against Bayer, alleging personal injuries, Bayer said in its quarterly report.
Bayer on Tuesday also said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for special items, would be around 12.1 billion euros this year, down from a target of 12.3 billion to 12.6 billion euros issued in February.
A second-quarter gain in adjusted EBITDA of 5.6% to 2.88 billion euros was slightly above analyst expectations.