What the company said:

CEO Werner Baumann noted that the pharmaceutical division "delivered encouraging performance." The company noted that profit was held back by costs of 492 million euros ($548 million) from the integration of Monsanto, as well as 393 million euros ($438 million) from restructuring costs.

Other results:

Xarelto: 937 million euros ($1 billion), up 15.1 percent, mainly as a result of higher volumes in China, Japan and Europe

Eylea: 583 million euros ($650 million), up 15.7 percent, boosted by higher volumes, particularly in the UK, France and Germany

Kogenate: 213 million euros ($237 million), down 0.5 percent

Nexavar: 184 million euros ($205 million), up 13.6 percent, driven by product launches in China, as well as volume increases in Germany and Brazil

Betaferon/Betaseron: 101 million euros ($113 million), down 22.3 percent, mainly due to "intense competition" in the US

Stivarga: 97 million euros ($108 million), up 38.6 percent, primarily due to higher volumes in China and "significantly" improved business in the US

Adempas: 95 million euros ($106 million), up 17.3 percent, boosted by higher volumes in the US and Europe

Consumer health sales: 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion), down 1 percent, with declines seen in Europe/Middle East/Africa and North America

Looking ahead:

Bayer confirmed its outlook for 2019, which was issued in December, with sales expected to be around 46 billion euros ($51.3 billion), representing growth of around 4 percent. Meanwhile, earnings are still predicted to reach approximately 12.2 billion euros ($13.6 billion).

The company noted that it also remains on track to exit the animal health business and following a strategic review of options, a sale of the division is the main focus.

What analysts said:

"The results were very good for the first quarter," remarked Pareto Securities analyst Dennis Berzhanin, adding but "you'd expect with a strong beat that you'd see guidance lifted a little bit."

By: Matthew Dennis

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