Germany’s Bayer AG says it expects to take a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion; £2.2 billion) hit from slower demand for glyphosate-based products, including its controversial Roundup weed killer.
The announcement came as the company lowered its outlook for the year.
In total, it has shelled out more than $15bn (£11.7bn) to settle lawsuits alleging its herbicides have been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers.
Bayer denied wrongdoing but said the payouts would end “uncertainty”.
Bayer said this was mainly due to a “significant further decline in sales of glyphosate-based products”.
The firm also forecast that its pre-tax profits could fall to 11.3 billion euros this year, compared with the 13.5 billion euros reported in 2022.
Roundup was originally released by the American firm Monsanto nearly five decades ago. The world’s best-selling weed killer has been revealed.
In 2018, Bayer bought Monsanto in a $63 billion deal. The tie-up gave Bayer control of more than a quarter of global seed and pesticide supplies.
That same year, a California court issued the first ruling linking Roundup to cancer and awarded substantial compensation to the plaintiffs.
In the lawsuits, Roundup users blamed the weed killer and its active ingredient glyphosate for their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers.
Last March, the company said it had resolved 107,000 of about 138,000 cases involving Roundup.
“The Roundup agreement is the right action at the right time for Bayer to end a long period of uncertainty,” Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said in 2020.
He reiterated the company’s view that the science indicates, “Roundup does not cause cancer and therefore is not responsible for the illnesses alleged in this litigation.”
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many weed killers, although the science on its safety is still far from conclusive.
Some countries have banned herbicides that contain glyphosate, while others continue to allow them.
There is no nationwide ban on glyphosate in the UK, although some councils in the country have stopped using it due to safety concerns.
Bayer is due to report earnings on August 8. The company did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment on Tuesday.