SMITHKLINE BEECHAM CONSUMER BRAND NORTH AMERICAN 17% SALES ADVANCE

SMITHKLINE BEECHAM CONSUMER BRAND NORTH AMERICAN 17% SALES ADVANCE in the second quarter was aided by the continuing strong performance in the U.S. of the company's Tums antacid brand, the British multinational announced July 20 in releasing financial results for the three and six month periods. The firm said that U.S. brand share for Tums "is at an all-time high," and that worldwide sales of the antacid were up 7% in the three months ended June 30. In the second quarter, SmithKline posted worldwide consumer brand sales of $ 483 mil., up 9%. For the six months, consumer brand sales advanced to $ 939 mil., the company said. The volume increase was "assisted by the marketing of products from [SmithKline's] partnership with Marion Merrell Dow," according to SmithKline. Another strong area was oral care, where sales rose 13% worldwide, driven by 17% growth in Europe. Currently, SmithKline is restructuring its consumer brands with the profit of the disposal of the company's "personal care brands," including the hair care and men's toiletry lines. The company accounted for the sale of those two businesses in the second quarter, SmithKline CEO Robert Bauman said the company "is now focused on its core health care business, including over-the- counter medicines, oral care products, and health-related drinks." Total second quarter sales were $ 2.27 bil., representing a 20% increase over second quarter 1992 sales (allowing for discontinued consumer brand operations). Excluding exceptional items, earnings were up 12%, according to SmithKline. Warner-Lambert U.S. consumer sector sales declined 2% for the second quarter ended June 30, the Morris Plains, N.J. firm reported July 20. "Sales growth in the U.S. was hindered by a difficult comparison with the prior-year quarter, when the launch and sell-in of Cool Mint Listerine occurred," the firm said. Listerine sales fell 24.4% domestically. Halls cough drops bolstered sales in the worldwide consumer sector, along with the company's confectionary and wet shaving products. Warner-Lambert recorded an overall 14% rise in consumer sector sales to $ 918 mil. from $ 808 mil. in the three-month period, according to the firm. CEO Melvin Goodes indicated that Warner-Lambert's "continuing strong worldwide sales of consumer products were offset by weakened pharmaceutical sales." Worldwide sales increased 6% to $ 1.45 bil. from $ 1.37 bil. in sales in the second quarter of 1992. Earnings per share also grew 6% to $ 1.40, while net income increased 7% to $ 190 mil. Bausch & Lomb's oral care division revenues jumped 20%, bolstered by the "continuing introduction" of Clear Choice alcohol-free mouthwash and the Interplak line of plaque removal devices, according to the company. Clear Choice was launched in October 1992. Sales for the personal health sector "reflected significantly higher shipments of general eye care products and revenues attributable to the recently acquired Curel and Soft Sense lines of therapeutic skin care products," Bausch & Lomb said. The company purchased the lines from S.C. Johnson in June ("The Tan Sheet" May 24, p. 18). Bausch & Lomb also noted that sales of its contact lens products increased 13% "in response to the continued excellent demand for the ReNu and Boston lines." Total sales in the health care segment reached $ 281.5 mil., a figure 12% greater than second quarter 1992 sales of $ 252.2 mil. U.S. sales grew 15% in the same period, while European sales "declined almost 8% due to the effects of weak economies and the strengthening of the U.S. dollar," the company said. Corporate Bausch & Lomb sales increased 7% in the second quarter to $ 479.4 mil., compared with $ 447.5 mil. for the same quarter one year earlier, the Rochester, N.Y. company announced July 15. Net earnings for the period rose 15% to $ 47 mil., translating into an earnings per share of $ .78, a 15% increase form the $ .68 earning one year earlier. Chart omitted.