"Excellent" 1st Half For Zeneca But Share Price Falls

Strong sales volume growth underpinned by profits growth of over 20% for the first six months of 1996 was announced by UK biosciences group Zeneca on August 6, but the initial reaction on the London Stock Exchange was a decline in the group's share price, down 20 points to L14.31 ($22.09) by mid-afternoon as investors took profits.

Sir David Barnes, chief executive of Zeneca, said he felt the rumors of a tie-up between his company and Anglo-American group SmithKline Beecham weighed heavy on the share price despite the strong results. He dismissed the rumors as "wholly untruthful and fictional reports."

Sir David told the Marketletter that his view on the notion of consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry being driven by overcapacity is that different firms have different strategies.