Crop Science

First quarter of 2026

Sales

Sales at Crop Science came in at €7,558 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Fx & portfolio adj. +6.8%). Business was mainly buoyed by significant gains at Soybean Seed & Traits following the resolution of a licensing agreement, as well as strong growth at Corn Seed & Traits. By contrast, we recorded declines in crop protection amid a challenging market environment.

• Sales at Corn Seed & Traits rose sharply across all regions, with business in North America benefiting from higher volumes at the start of the season. In addition, sales increased substantially in Europe/Middle East/Africa and Latin America, driven by strong product performance and successful commercial execution.

• In the Herbicides business, our non-glyphosate-based products saw a decline in sales that was largely attributable to lower volumes in Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific. In addition, sales of our glyphosate-based products decreased substantially in North America and Europe/Middle East/Africa due to customers delaying purchases.

• Sales at Fungicides declined markedly, with business mainly impacted by challenging market conditions in Latin America, as well as lower sales in Europe/Middle East/Africa.

• Our Soybean Seed & Traits business posted significant gains, with sales in North America benefiting from the aforementioned resolution of a licensing agreement and price recovery following the return of the dicamba label. We also recorded strong growth in Latin America that was driven by higher volumes.

• Sales at Insecticides were lower year on year, with business mainly held back by the challenging market environment in Latin America. By contrast, we posted higher volumes in Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific that were driven by higher demand.

• Our Vegetable Seeds business posted a substantial decline in sales, with business headwinds primarily related to shifts in demand into subsequent quarters and acreage reductions.

• Sales at Cotton Seed were mainly impacted by a substantial decrease in volumes in North America that was only partly offset by price recovery following the return of the dicamba label.

• In the reporting unit “Other”, we posted a significant increase in sales in our canola business due to higher volumes driven by expected market share growth.

Earnings

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science increased by 17.9% to €3,014 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2025: €2,557 million), mainly driven by strong growth in the Soybean Seed & Traits and Corn Seed & Traits businesses, as well as a decrease in the cost of goods sold due to our efficiency programs. By contrast, there was a negative currency effect of €277 million (Q1 2025: €26 million). The EBITDA margin before special items rose by 6.2 percentage points to 39.9%.

EBIT came in at €2,277 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Q1 2025: €1,386 million) after net special gains of €46 million (Q1 2025: special charges of €401 million) that were primarily attributable to a change in the discount rate applied for our provisions for litigations.