Bayer shares were one of the strongest performers on the DAX index on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Friday, as investors seemed to appreciate the confident, pro-active tone adopted by the new CEO at the Group's Annual General Meeting.

"Restoring confidence and setting Bayer on the road to improved performance" was the message hammered home by Bill Anderson at today's meeting in Leverkusen.

The head of the chemicals and pharmaceuticals group, who took up his post last June, expressed his confidence in achieving the targets set for 2024 and in the strategic direction taken by the company.

"2024 is the first year of our three-year rejuvenation phase", he declared.

While the CEO acknowledged that the crop protection and consumer health businesses are likely to experience a difficult start to the year due to the current market context, he was confident that the annual targets would be met.

Bill Anderson said he had identified three priority areas for the Group to work on over the next two or three years.

According to him, these are (1) dealing with the expiry of drug patents, (2) settling lawsuits in the USA, (3) reducing debt and (4) cutting red tape.

This optimistic outlook was greeted by a 1.8% gain in the share price late Friday morning.

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