Monsanto Co.'s chief executive gave no formal update Wednesday on a $62 billion takeover proposal from Bayer AG, as the biotech-seed company said earnings fell more than Wall Street expected amid "an unforeseen level of challenges affecting our business."

Shares in the company fell 1.2% to $99.93 in light premarket trading.

The results come after the company turned down a $62 billion takeover bid from Bayer AG last month. Monsanto Chief Executive Hugh Grant said Wednesday that he has been in discussions with Bayer's management—"along with others regarding alternative strategic options"—over the past several weeks but gave no formal update on a potential tie-up.

"We continue to recognize the potential value these types of combinations can create as they accelerate innovation and increase choice for farmers across a broader set of crops, geographies and production practices, while improving the sustainability of agriculture around the world," Mr. Grant said in prepared remarks.

Monsanto said Bayer's offer undervalued the company. The bid, which would be the largest ever corporate takeover by a German firm, would create the world's biggest seed and pesticide business. But Bayer Chief Executive Werner Baumann has been struggling to sway investors following Monsanto's public rejection. He has since reiterated the $122-a-share bid, which Monsanto again rebuffed. Mr. Baumann previously said he plans to continue negotiating with Monsanto in private, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Monsanto said its results were hurt by glyphosate pricing declines; costs related to the delayed launch of its Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans and lower soybean volume due to the delay; India cotton-pricing regulations and other headwinds.

"Our industry is running at a low point in the overall agriculture cycle," Mr. Grant said.

For the period ended May 31, Monsanto reported a profit of $717 million, or $1.63 a share, compared with $1.14 billion, or $2.39a share, a year ago. Excluding items, such as restructuring charges and Argentine-related tax matters, earnings per share fell to $2.17. Total sales slid 8.5% to $4.19 billion.

Analysts, on average, projected $2.40 in adjusted earnings per share and $4.49 billion in sales, according to Thomson Reuters.

In its latest quarter, Monsanto saw revenue from seeds and genomics, its biggest business, edged up 0.4% to $3.21 billion. Sales in its agricultural productivity segment, meanwhile, slid 29% to $982 million.

The company also said it now sees adjusted per-share profit this year at the low end of its $3.36 to $4.14 range.

Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 29, 2016 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)