Boots Buy Boosts BASF In 1996 First Half

Sales in the second quarter of 1996 picked up at German chemical and pharmaceutical group BASF from the decline in the first quarter of the year, rising 3.7% to 12.4 billion Deutschemarks ($8.4 billion). This resulted in turnover for the first six months of the year rising 0.9% to 24.3 billion marks.

Pretax profits for the first half were 2.3 billion marks, up 14.7%. Max Kley, a member of the group's board of executive directors, said at a financial press conference held in London, UK, that three segments made major contributions to the improvement: health and nutrition, oil and gas, and finishing products. All sectors reported positive income from operations in the first six months of the year, and it was noted that information systems achieved significantly improved income.

Mr Kley noted that in the health and nutrition sector, "we are deriving particular benefit from the boost to our pharmaceuticals business provided by the Boots acquisition. As the costs of integrating the Boots operations were already absorbed in 1995, income from operations has significantly improved."