COMPANY NEWS
1.Bayer takes long-term aim at No.3 spot in GMO market
2.Dow Chemical to keep agricultural unit for now
3.BASF gets EPA approval for new herbicide
TAKE ACTION: Oppose Bayer's GM rice
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering/hands-off-our-rice/hands-off-our-rice
NOTE: Treadmill keeps on turning: "Growers discovered that some broadleaf weeds have developed a resistance to glyphosate, a key chemical that Monsanto Co. first patented and used in Roundup. BASF says Kixor herbicide will attack those resistant weeds." (item 3)
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1.Bayer takes long-term aim at No.3 spot in GMO market
Ludwig Burger and Frank Siebelt
Reuters, September 17 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSFAB01325220090917
* Aims to triple plant biotech sales to 1.4 bln eur by 2018
* Trains sights on Syngenta's No.3 spot in GM seeds market
* Earmarks 3.5 bln eur for biotech R&D through 2018
* CropScience unit head says 25 pct margin goal "ambitious"
MONHEIM, Germany - Bayer (BAYG.DE) aims to boost its genetically-modified (GM) seeds business and challenge Syngenta (SYNN.VX) of Switzerland for the No. 3 spot among the world's largest supplier of GM crops, it said.
Bayer, also jostling with its Swiss rival for market leadership in conventional pesticides, needs to shore up its plant biotech operations because old and new approaches to crop protection were gradually converging, the head of Bayer's CropScience unit told Reuters.
"Without biotech you're not seeing the whole picture," unit head Friedrich Berschauer told Reuters late on Wednesday. "I'm thoroughly convinced that you need to combine crop protection, seeds and biotech."
The company aims to triple its annual sales from biotech seeds to 1.4 billion euros ($2.1 billion) by 2018, it said.
It had the "ambitious" goal to become the third or fourth largest supplier in that market in 10 years, the head of strategy at CropScience, Ruediger Scheitza, said.
Bayer, even though the world's largest supplier of modified cotton and rape seeds, is a distant sixth in the overall market for GM crops, trying to reach 500 million euros in sales from such products this year.
Market leader Monsanto (MON.N) posted $6.4 billion in sales at its Seeds and Genomics unit last year, out of a total $11.4 billion for the group.
Runners-up in the $26 billion global market are DuPont's (DD.N) Pioneer unit and Syngenta.
Bayer expects the GM seeds market to gain 6 percent annually over the next 10 years, while it sees growth in conventional crop chemicals gaining only 1-2 percent per year.
It plans to spend a combined 3.5 billion euros on research and development in that area through 2018 and to pursue smaller acquisitions to meet its growth target, Bayer added.
Research ventures include manipulating genes to make wheat grow with less nitrogen fertilisers or to help rice plants resist floods.
Berschauer said that Bayer needed to begin tailoring package deals for farmers that comprise modified seeds, traditional pesticides and services.
A pesticides-only business would eventually come under threat from cheap copies of off-patent pesticides, mainly out of China, and from plants that were engineered to produce their own insecticides, Berschauer cautioned.
He said the CropScience unit's margin target was now "ambitious". The business aims for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) excluding special items of 25 percent of sales.
Falling prices for wheat and corn as well as unfavourable weather conditions in Europe had weighed on business in the third quarter, he added.
The second half of the year traditionally accounts for only about a quarter of annual core earnings at the division because farmers on the northern hemisphere, its largest customer group, typically apply crop chemicals in the first half.
The division posted 6.4 billion euros in sales last year, up almost 10 percent from the year earlier, accounting for about 20 percent of Bayer's total revenue.
Bayer, one of the few remaining companies that combine chemicals and drugs businesses, has stressed its reliance on its solid pharmaceuticals and pesticides units, while its plastics unit was drawn into the maelstrom of the economic crisis.
(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters Messaging: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)) ($1=.6810 Euro)
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2.Dow Chemical to keep agricultural unit for now
Reuters, September 16 2009
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIndustryMaterialsUtilitiesNews/idUSN1612512820090916
* CEO wants to 'unlock' unit's value
* Agricultural unit kept company afloat in Q1
* Rohm & Haas loan will be paid off soon
* Shares up 2.7 percent
By Ernest Scheyder
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N) plans to hold onto its agricultural business for now and hopes to pay off debt from its April buyout of Rohm & Haas very soon, Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said on Wednesday.
Liveris was backing away from statements earlier this year that Dow might spin off the fast-growing unit, sell it, or team up with another agricultural company in order to cut its debt from the Rohm & Haas purchase.
"Unlocking the value of Dow AgroSciences has always been on our radar screen," Liveris said at the Credit Suisse Chemical and Agricultural Science Conference. "We will not let that value go out the door."
The unit has the potential to be a big player in an industry dominated by Monsanto Co (MON.N), so a sale or spinoff just does not make sense right now, he said.
"Everyone wants to be the next Monsanto," Liveris said. "We want our current shareholders to benefit."
Dow AgroSciences, which makes genetically modified seeds, herbicides and pesticides, has seen explosive growth in recent years, helping to bolster its parent's overall performance.
Midland, Michigan-based Dow would not have made a profit in the first quarter if not for the agricultural unit.
In recent months, rumors have swirled that Switzerland's Syngenta (SYNN.VX) or China National Chemical Corp [CNNCC.UL] might be interested in the unit.
Meanwhile, Liveris said Dow would fully pay off the loan from its more than $16 billion purchase of Rohm & Haas Co once it completes the sale of its Morton Salt and Optimal businesses.
The company has said in the past it expects those deals to close by the end of the year.
Shares of Dow were up 70 cents, or 2.7 percent, at $26.53 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. The stock price has ranged from $5.89 to $39.99 in the past 52 weeks. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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3.BASF gets EPA approval for new herbicide
Associated Press, 16 September 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gahG1Tiyuz9ySEtyN4it8XeD6BkQD9ANQ65G3
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. ”” German chemical company BASF SE says it has received U.S. approval to market a new herbicide to battle broadleaf weeds resistant to a chemical in commonly used herbicides like Roundup.
BASF said Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency has approved its Kixor herbicide for use in four products that will be offered this fall.
It expects sales to reach about $200 million by 2012.
Growers discovered that some broadleaf weeds have developed a resistance to glyphosate, a key chemical that Monsanto Co. first patented and used in Roundup. BASF says Kixor herbicide will attack those resistant weeds.
A Monsanto spokeswoman declined immediate comment.