Sales Down And Profits Up At Hoechst In 1st Half

The German group Hoechst's sales for the first six months of 1996 were down 2% on the like, year-earlier period to 26.1 billion Deutschemarks ($17.7 million). The group said that this was due to the changes in its composition and uneven regional developments.

Pretax profits amounted to 4.3 billion marks, more than twice the year-earlier figure. Operating profits were 2.8 billion marks, up 32%. On a comparable basis, operating profit growth was 18%, reflecting the contribution of the Marion acquisition. Cost-cutting measures at Hoechst Marion Roussel, the diagnostics division, AgrEvo and Hoechst Roussel Vet helped lift profits. The pretax gain was largely attributed to gains from the sale of affiliates and shareholdings.

Turnover in Europe was down 12% on the 1995 first half. However, it was noted that operating business was much better in the second quarter than in the first. In Hoechst's domestic market there was a 23% decline in sales to 2.2 billion marks, half of which was due to spin-offs and divestments.