Bayer ups dividend ahead of annual results

German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer said Tuesday it will pay out an increased dividend for 2016, pointing to a "very successful" year ahead of its annual results release.

Supervisory board members approved executives' plan to pay shareholders 2.70 euros ($2.84) per share at the firm's annual general meeting, up from 2.50 euros for 2015, the group said in a statement.

"The year 2016 was very successful for Bayer. We want our shareholders to receive an appropriate share," chief executive Werner Baumann said.

Bayer will release its full annual results on Wednesday.

In total, the dividend payment will add up to 2.2 billion euros, or 8.0 percent more than the total dividend payout for 2015.

Bayer upgraded its full-year forecast to a "high single-digit percentage increase in adjusted profits per share" in October, as it released third-quarter results boosted by strong profits at its prescription drugs division.

Shares in Bayer gained 0.89 percent to trade at 108.15 euros in Frankfurt at 1220 GMT on Tuesday, slightly outperforming the blue-chip DAX 30 index.

The Leverkusen-based firm is in the throes of a $66-billion takeover bid -- the largest ever attempted by a German firm -- targeting US seed and pesticide supplier Monsanto.

While shareholders in the US firm have approved the deal, authorities in the European Union and United States have yet to give their green light.

A tie-up between the two groups would create an agrochemical behemoth which environmental activists fear would hold excessive power over farmers and the food chain.

Bayer and Monsanto said shortly before Donald Trump's inauguration as US president in January they would jointly invest $8 billion in agriculture research in the US, creating thousands of jobs.

CEO Baumann and Monsanto chief Hugh Grant had a "very productive meeting" with Trump to discuss the investment, the two firms said in a statement at the time.