Schwarz Pharma Reduces Sales Growth Forecast

- Schwarz Pharma AG has reduced its sales growth forecast for 1997 toaround 5%. Patrick Schwarz-Schuette, the company's chairman, said that the earlier forecast of 6%-8% growth was reduced because the impact of new German health service reforms could not yet be fully assessed. He added that the company remains committed to its profits forecast of a rise in earnings per share from 4.49 Deutschemarks ($2.59) to 4.90 marks. Group sales increased 2.7% in first-quarter 1997, while sales in the first five months of this year are estimated to have risen by 5.4% to 513.3 million marks.