When attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz arrived at Liverpool Football Club from Bayer Leverkusen to the sound of jubilant supporters this summer, few anticipated that the transfer would cause concern at big pharma Bayer.
Bayer – a German drugmaker that owns compatriot football club Bayer Leverkusen – reported better-than-expected Q2 results last week. Operating income came in at €2.1bn ($2.43bn) for the company, fuelled apparently by strong growth in its pharmaceutical portfolio.
However, a more detailed Q2 earnings report released on 6 August revealed that the results included revenue from players sold at Bayer Leverkusen.
In its Q2 report, Bayer wrote: “In the reconciliation, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation (EBITDA) before special items increased against the prior-year period, largely thanks to higher revenue from player transfers at Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH.”
A Bayer spokesperson declined to add further information after Pharmaceutical Technology’s request, saying only the player transfers “helped improve this figure”.
Despite a positive Q2 report that also included Bayer raising its 2025 sales outlook, investors were downbeat after the disclosure. Shares in the company closed 8% down at €24.98 on 6 August compared to the market open.
There was also a lukewarm reception to in-depth analysis of its pharma segment, which showed that the 0.6% growth came more from a slower decline in sales of off-patent anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban). Investors usually hope that growth in newer products, with longer patent protection, will further fuel revenue.
“The detail of the beat being somewhat related to Xarelto and the sale of a footballer could be disappointing to some,” JP Morgan analysts wrote in a note sent to Pharmaceutical Technology.
Leverkusen have permanently sold a total of six players in the summer transfer window for fees, according to Transfermarkt. The highest by far was Wirtz’s transfer to Liverpool FC for a British-record fee of €136.3m in June. The deal structure includes €117.5m upfront for the player, meaning Leverkusen receive that immediately. Other deals include Jeremie Frimpong – also to Liverpool FC – for €40m in May and Odilon Kossounon transferred for €20m in June.
German football league rules dictate that fan members maintain majority ownership and control of their clubs. Bayer’s ownership of Leverkusen goes back to 1904, when the club was established, predating voting rights rules. It is unclear how much of Leverkusen’s profits funnel back to Bayer.
JP Morgan analysts specifically highlighted the Wirtz transfer driving lower reconciliation costs, which came in at an EBITDA of €13m, €106m better than consensus.
Despite the noise around player transfers inflating earnings, there were distinct growth points for Bayer’s newly launched drugs. Prostate cancer therapy Nubeqa (darolutamide) grew 50.5% to €546m, while Kerendia (finerenone) stretched sales by 67.1% to €183m.
Separately, Bayer announced it has now cut 12,000 full-time positions since the start of its restructuring programme designed to save €2bn by 2026.
