Weak Earnings At BASF; Health Sales Up

BASF of Germany said first-half 1997 sales rose 15.5% to 14.36 billionDeutschemarks ($7.83 billion) and net profits were just 3.4% higher at 1.3 billion marks. The results were seen as a disappointment, and BASF's shares dropped 4.9% to close on the day of reporting at 68.67 marks.

Health care and nutrition generated "above-average increases in sales," the company said, moving up 19.9% to 6.06 billion marks, principally due to the group's crop protection business in North America (which was strengthened by the acquisition of the corn herbicides business from Sandoz). But operating income from this sector slumped 40% to 678 million marks, partly due to health service budget price pressures throughout the world and also from new drug launch costs.