BIOCRAFT SAYS FY 1986 NET EARNINGS WILL RISE 34% TO $6 MIL. MARK; FOURTH QUARTER EARNINGS DROP 40% HOWEVER; BIOGEN FIRST QUARTER REVENUES OFF 21%

Biocraft is expecting a 34% increase in fiscal 1986 net earnings to $6 mil., the generic mfr. announced in a May 8 press release. Subject to final audit completion, sales will be in the $43 mil. range, reflecting a 25% increase over 1985 levels. "This is notable," commented Biocraft Chairman Harold Snyder, "considering that we elected to spend an additional $1 mil. in the 1986 fiscal year on R&D efforts -- investing over four percent of sales in R&D rather than the 2.3% invested in the prior year." For the fourth quarter, however, Biocraft indicated it will report a nearly 40% drop in net income to approximately $1 mil. on sales of roughly $9.7 mil. Fourth quarter volume was "marginally ahead" of fourth quarter 1985 levels, the company said. The release noted that fourth quarter earnings were affected by expenditures of $650,000 for new product studies. Announcing its year-end results, Carter-Wallace reported a nearly 19% sales increae to $400.2 mil. for the fourth quarter ended March 31. Net earnings rose 33% to $27.6 mil. during the three-month period. For the fiscal year ended March 31, the company said that sales were up 15% to $112.5 mil., while net earnings jumped nearly 20% to $6.1 mil. Biogen said that its 21.4% first quarter revenue decline to $3.8 mil. resulted from a new licensing strategy. "The first quarter results reflect our decision to seek licensing arrangements that take into account the higher added value of our products," Chairman and CEO James Vincent explained. For the three months ended March 31, Biogen reported a net loss of $6.3 mil., compared to a net loss of about $5 mil. in the first quarter of 1985. Baltimore-based Pharmakinetics reported that third quarter renenues declined 49% to $1.8 mil., however, the company posted net earnings of $116,518, compared to a loss of $1.6 mil. in the third quarter of fiscal 1985. "Though earnings for the third quarter continued a pattern of profitability started in the fiscal first quarter, profits still reflect some residual expenses from the previous year's termination of clinical testing," President Steven Woodman commented. For the nine months ended March 31, Pharmakinetics reported revenues of $5.8 mil., off 38.2% from the first three quarters of fiscal 1985. The company had net earnings of $297,603 during the period, compared to a net loss of $7.6 mil. the previous year. Chart omitted.