Waiting in the wings for his role as Bayer CEO, Marijn Dekkers (photo) is promising to focus on sales growth rather than profit margins when he takes the stage. At least that's the word from Financial Times Deutschland (via Bloomberg), which reported the news based on talks between Dekker and JP Morgan stock analysts.
Scheduled to replace current chief Werner Wenning (photo) in October, Dekkers is said to be preparing to scout for acquisitions to beef up Bayer's healthcare division, JP Morgan told investors in a research note. To push the growth-over-margins strategy further, FT reports, pay incentives for management will be adjusted accordingly.
The company's margins have improved over the last five years and is "now looking to increase absolute sales and profits, with less of a focus on margin expansion," the firm wrote (as quoted by Reuters). Margins are now 23.1 percent, as of the first quarter of this year, up from 21.1 percent for all of 2009, the news service notes.
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