An early start to the crop season in the northern hemisphere helped Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK: News ,BAYZF.PK: News ) grow profit by 53 percent in the first quarter. The German conglomerate's top line was also boosted by growth in all other subgroups. The company left its full-year guidance unchanged on continuing uncertainties. Bayer CropScience sales rose 15.6 percent to 2.6 billion euros, with highest growth rates in North America. The segment's bottom line grew at a better rate than sales, helped by added benefits of efficiency improvements, successful cost management and positive currency effects.
