Germany's Merck Group Reports Good Sales Growth Abroad

Above-average - 17.2% - sales growth in third quarter 1997 is reportedby Germany's Merck group, which notes that the usual seasonal decline in the third quarter did not materialize. However, it points out that positive currency effects did increase slightly more than previously, but also that currency-adjusted sales exceeded the average of the first six months of this year.

Sales rose in the group's three business sectors - pharmaceuticals, laboratory products and specialty chemicals, with double-digit growth rates. Total sales for the first nine months amounted to 5.92 billion Deutschemarks ($3.34 billion), exceeding the like, 1996 period by 14.8% (or 9.2% on a currency-adjusted basis).

Merck notes that the increase in sales is mainly due to operations overseas, and that on a year-on-year basis, parent company Merck KGaA's sales rose only 3%, with domestic turnover up just 1%.