End Of Year Encouraging For US Companies

Last year's fourth quarter was the best in two years for pharmaceutical companies, said David Saks of Gruntal & Co, commenting on the end-of- year results for US companies, with Johnson & Johnson and Upjohn especially showing very strong rises on the previous year.

- Alza posted an increase in royalties and fees of 9% to $123.7 million, and a rise of $21.9 million to $68.7 million in product development revenues for the full year. Research and development expenses increased by $22.9 million to $76.1 million. The company also reported that it had decided to maintain the reserve it had established relating to a patent suit filed by Ciba-Geigy in 1991, even though it had been granted a favorable ruling, as litigation is still ongoing. A favorable termination could add a further net income of $0.04 to $0.05 per share.

- Baxter exceeded its cash-flow goal and net earnings objectives set for 1994, said Vernon Loucks, company chairman and chief executive, adding that he expected strong growth in sales and earnings to generate an operational cash flow of more than $500 million in 1995, which should contribute to higher shareholder value.