Pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer AG says strong growth in the crop science division helped second-quarter profits rise more than 40 percent.

Bayer on Thursday reported net profits of €747 million for the April-July period, up from €530 a year earlier.

Revenue rose only 0.8 percent as the healthcare division saw its sales drop 2.3 percent to €4.2 million due to reforms in various countries.

The crop science division fared better with revenues up 3.1 percent. The material science unit also saw sales rise 3.5 percent.

Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers said the company’s outlook for 2011 remained on track following “significant progress” with products from the research and development pipeline.