Bayer drugs secure earnings beat, offset weak crop chems

By Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer , the German drugmaker trying to acquire U.S. seed company Monsanto , surpassed second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its guidance for the year as strong gains in stroke prevention pill Xarelto offset sluggish farming pesticides markets. Second-quarter profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, gained 5.7 percent to 3.05 billion euros (2.55 billion pounds), above the average estimate of