By Olivia Bugault

Bayer AG had a good start to the year, according to a preliminary version of the speech that the company's chief executive will make at the annual general meeting on Tuesday.

"Early indications suggest that we had a successful start to the year," Chief Executive Werner Baumann said. "In the agriculture business, in particular, we see a market environment that gives us an increasingly positive perspective," he added.

The executive also confirmed that Bayer's sales should grow by around 3% this year assuming constant exchange rates, while earnings per share should be slightly below 2020's level.

Mr. Baumann also said that Bayer's goal will be to regain shareholders' trust after a disappointing stock performance last year. Bayer's share price fell from roughly EUR73 at the start of 2020 to around EUR48 at the end of last year.

The company made the speech available on its website Friday and will release first-quarter results on May 12.

Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 23, 2021 07:04 ET (11:04 GMT)

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