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Biotech / Medical : wla(warner lambert) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Anthony Wong who wrote (514)	1/28/1999 11:36:00 PM
From: Greg Jenkins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 942

As promised here is what AG Edwards has to say about just released earnings: 1-25-99: WLA reported fourth quarter 1998 diluted eps of $0.40 versus $0.29 in 1997, a increase of 43%, in line with our and the street's estimate. Quarterly sales increased 24% over 1997's fourth quarter to $2.9 billion. All of the increase during the quarter was due to volume growth of 24%. Exchange rates and pricing had no effect on the quarter's results. Pharmaceutical sales were $1.7 billion, up 44%, due mostly to the growth of lipitor and neurontin. Dilantin and Rezulin also contributed to the sales growth during the quarter. Also contributing to the quarters results were omnicef (cefdinir), a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic and celexa (citalopram), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor(ssri) for the treatment of depression-both launched in the united states in the third quarter of 1998. The consumer health care segment increased by 4% to $682 million. The confectionery segment sales increased to $504 million during the quarter, up 4% (up 6% excluding exchange effect on sales). Gross margin increased by almost 3 percentage points to 74.9% from 72% in the fourth quarter of 1997, as a result of strong new pharmaceutical product sales and productivity initiatives. The company expects diluted eps for 1999 to increase in the range of 30%. our eps estimate for 1999 remains at $1.94/+31%. We strongly recommend conservative investors buy shares of WLA. --------------------------------------------------------------------- more to follow later. Greg J.