Stronger Sales Bring Forecast Upgrade for Yamanouchi

Sales in the first five months of the 1995 fiscal year of Yamanouchi's in-house developed drugs - the antiulcerant Gaster (famotidine) and the dysuria treatment Harnal (tamsulosin) - were much stronger than expected. Sales of two licensed-in products, human insulin Novo insulin and human growth hormone Norditropin, were also robust, say analysts at Lehman Brothers.

Based on this, they are saying that their original estimates for sales of 267 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in fiscal 1995 and recurring profits of 55.3 billion yen are too conservative. They expect sales and profit to exceed original forecasts, and have revised their projections upwards. Full details of the figures are not given.

The analysts are maintaining a moderate 3 rating on the stock and suggest that appreciation of the share price in the next three months will not exceed 10%.