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 The German group called into question the future sale of glyphosate-based
products to residential users in the U.S., and said it would review
plans to settle around 30,000 legal claims, after the judge called
Bayer's plan to end years of litigation "unreasonable" on Wednesday.
"We will continue to assess financial risks as we move forward,"
finance chief Wolfgang Nickl said in an analyst call, when asked if
the estimate of the potential financial burden had been revised.
Bayer will be spared payouts related to future cases it had outlined
in its plan this year and next but will continue to set aside $2
billion for the looming risk of further claims, reflecting its view
that there were no fundamental changes in the outlook.
Investors were less optimistic, with shares falling as much as 5.3%
and trading 4.2% lower at 0855 GMT. Analysts at brokerage Bryan
Garnier called it "the story that never ends". "This ruling will
keep a Damocles sword on Bayer," even as demand for seeds and
farming pesticides recovers, they added.
Bayer's top litigation lawyer William Dodero said the group would
seek clearance from the U.S. supreme court on defeats suffered in
jury trials and appellate courts even though the product has
repeatedly been deemed safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
A petition to review rulings in favour of Roundup user Edwin
Hardeman would be filed in late summer, with a final verdict
expected in the middle of next year, said Dodero.
About 125,000 users have alleged the product caused their
non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, 96,000 of which have been
resolved and a $9.6 billion settlement also included provisions for
the remaining claims.
Three cases have gone to trial and in each one, juries awarded tens
of millions of dollars in damages for plaintiffs.
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 "We are determined to resolve
the Roundup litigation and minimise the risk to
our company from the existing and potential
future lawsuits," said Bayer Chief Executive
Werner Baumann. "We remain open
to settlement negotiations on the remaining lawsuits, as long as the
terms are reasonable. However, we will review this approach in the
future," he added.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco rejected as
"unreasonable" Bayer's class action proposal, which would have
provided compensation in return for placing limits on lawsuits.
Germany's Bayer acquired Roundup with its $63 billion purchase of
Monsanto in 2018.
Announcing a new plan after the ruling, Bayer said it "will
immediately engage with partners to discuss the future of glyphosate-based
products in the U.S. residential market", which accounts for most
cancer claims.
Bayer said that market segment was worth about 300 million euros in
annual sales and one option included using a different active
ingredient in Roundup, while no changes were foreseen for
agricultural users.
 Demand for the herbicide has remained robust throughout the
litigation, Bayer added.
(Additional reporting by the Berlin NewsroomEditing by Riham
Alkousaa, Madeline Chambers and Elaine Hardcastle)
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