Crop Science

Third quarter of 2026

Sales

Sales at Crop Science came in at €3,884 million in the third quarter of 2026 (reported: +0.7%; Fx & portfolio adj.: –2.4%). The currency- and portfolio-adjusted decline was largely attributable to regulatory impacts and adverse weather conditions in Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific. However, these headwinds were partially offset by strong growth in Latin America, which was mainly driven by increased demand for corn and soybean seeds for the summer season.

• Sales at Corn Seed & Traits came in at the prior-year level overall, with the aforementioned strong growth in Latin America offsetting lower volumes in the other three regions that were due to a reduction in planted area. The declines in Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific were primarily attributable to adverse weather conditions, with El Niño among the factors involved.

• Sales in our Fungicides unit declined sharply, primarily due to volume phasing into the fourth quarter and generic pricing pressure in Latin America. Volumes also decreased considerably in Europe/Middle East/Africa due to regulatory impacts and adverse weather.

• Sales at our Glyphosate unit declined year on year, primarily reflecting lower demand in Europe/Middle East/Africa following a prolonged period of hot weather.

• At our Herbicides excl. Glyphosate unit, sales decreased markedly year on year. This development was predominantly attributable to regulatory impacts in Europe, weather-related volume declines in Asia/Pacific, and pricing pressure from generics in North America. By contrast, we recorded higher volumes in Latin America following strategic price adjustments.

• Soybean Seed & Traits posted an increase in sales that was primarily driven by strong business performance in Latin America.

• Sales at Insecticides were level with the prior-year period, with business benefiting from higher volumes in North America. By contrast, we mainly recorded declines in Latin America in connection with our streamlined product portfolio.

• Our Vegetable Seeds business recorded a decline in sales due to lower volumes, especially in Europe/Middle East/Africa. This development was primarily attributable to a reduction in planted area as well as volume phasing into the fourth quarter.

• In the reporting unit “Other,” we registered an increase in sales that was predominantly driven by higher canola seed volumes in North America. By contrast, business was down markedly in the other parts of our seed portfolio, mainly due to El Niño impacts on our rice seed business in Asia.

Earnings

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science decreased by 41.3% to €101 million in the third quarter of 2026 (Q3 2025: €172 million), with this period typically representing the quarter with the smallest contribution to full-year earnings due to seasonal factors. The decline in earnings was primarily attributable to an increase in the cost of goods sold as well as higher selling expenses. These negative cost-related developments partially reflected the impact of favorable effects in the prior-year period. By contrast, there was a positive currency effect of €9 million (Q3 2025: negative currency effect of €21 million). The EBITDA margin before special items decreased by 1.9 percentage points to 2.6%.

EBIT came in at minus €381 million in the third quarter of 2026 (Q3 2025: minus €1,187 million) after net special gains of €80 million (Q3 2025: special charges of €779 million) that were mainly attributable to positive effects arising from a change in the discount rate applied for our provisions for litigations.