FRANKFURT, May 13 (Reuters) - Bayer on

Tuesday posted a slower decline in first-quarter adjusted

earnings than the market had feared as strong prescription

numbers for new drugs offset a drop in its soy and cotton seed

business.

Quarterly earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and

amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, fell 7.4% to

4.09 billion euros ($4.54 billion), beating a consensus of 3.75

billion euros posted on the company's website.

The group, which is grappling with costly U.S. product

liability litigation over its weed killer Roundup, said on

Wednesday it had cut 2,000 full-time positions in the first

quarter, on top of 7,000 jobs slashed last year.

CEO Bill Anderson has faced investor pressure to deliver on

restructuring efforts and to reverse what is projected to be the

third consecutive annual drop in operating income in 2025.

He is cutting managerial jobs, speeding up decision-making

and slashing red tape, and has secured shareholder approval to

raise fresh equity if needed to settle litigation.

Bayer on Tuesday also confirmed its currency-adjusted

earnings outlook for 2025.

This year's special items, however, would be at the upper

end of the previous outlook range, or about minus 1.5 billion

euros ($1.67 billion), given higher legal risks and severance

pay for staff, it added.

For its pharmaceuticals division, the German group projected

currency-adjusted sales growth and the EBITDA margin before

special items to come in at the upper end of its previous target

range.

($1 = 0.9003 euros)