Elevated crop prices have helped Bayer, like other chemicals conglomerates, to offset the worst of hits from industrial and plastics markets, with the group's agriculture division by far its top performer.

The German-based group said that its underlying earnings (ebitda) in agrichemicals and seed rose 14.5% to E189m in the July to September period, on revenues up 19.0% at E1.64bn.

The improvement beat a 5.8% rise in profits growth in healthcare products, and a 4.3% drop in ebitda at the plastics and industrial chemicals division, and reflected similar outcomes at groups including Germany's BASF and US-based Dow Chemical and DuPont.

The "strong business development" at the agriculture division "continued unabated" in the latest quarter, Marijn Dekkers, the Bayer chief executive, said.

The group added that its agriculture result "was supported by the positive market conditions, which in turn benefited from factors such as the persistently high prices for agricultural commodities".

'Especially brisk'

In the latest quarter, the desire to raise yields and cash in on high crop prices sent sales notably higher in South America, a trend noted also by peers.

Argentine and Brazilian growers are currently planting their soybean crops, ahead of harvests early in 2013 which many users are banking on to fill voids left by poor results from the latest South and North American harvests.

However, Bayer flagged too "especially brisk" sales in Europe, underpinned by strong autumn applications of fungicides on cereals crops, and in North America.

"The drought in the US had only a marginal effect on our business so far," the company said, flagging "particularly" strong growth in sales of seed treatments.

North American sales of seeds themselves had also been notably firm, especially for those of canola, the rapeseed variant, signalling that the oilseed may remain popular with Canadian growers despite a disappointing harvest this year.

New boss

Bayer stuck by forecasts for its agriculture division, CropScience - of which Irish-born Liam Condon takes charge in December, succeeding Sandra Peterson who has become group worldwide chairman at Johnson & Johnson.

The division will achieve growth in sales of some 10% in 2012, and in ebitda of about 20%, adjusted for currency movements and one-time effects, the group said.

Shares in Bayer, which also announced the $1.2bn takeover of US vitamins maker Schiff Nutrition International, closed 1.7% higher at E67.65 in Frankfurt.