Bayer said in a statement that third-quarter adjusted EBITDA gained 17.3% to 2.45 billion euros ($2.45 billion), above an average analyst estimate of 2.31 billion euros posted on the company's website.

Bayer, which has been hit by litigation costs over claims that a weedkiller it acquired under its Monsanto takeover causes cancer, confirmed its full-year outlook.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)