Management Report
9. Growth and Innovation
Innovation and the development of new markets drive the company’s growth. Bayer has the necessary research and development resources to steadily add to its product portfolio, optimize production processes and expand capacities in the emerging markets.
In the first quarter of 2012 we spent €699 million on research and development, while capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment and intangible assets totaled €256 million.
The emerging markets made a good contribution to sales growth in the first quarter of 2012. For reporting purposes we have defined these markets as Asia (excluding Japan), Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Our sales in these emerging markets advanced by 5.5% (Fx adj.) in the first quarter of 2012 to €3,340 million, with particularly strong contributions from Latin America, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The emerging markets accounted for 33.2% of total sales (Q1 2011: 33.1%).