AHP Sees Strong Sales Growth; Lexmark to Join S&P 500

Author:: Eileen Kinsella
Publish date:: Aug 9, 1999 8:04 PM EDT

American Home Products

(AHP)

, refusing to be pulled down by the weight of a recent $23.3 million jury verdict over its diet drug combination fen-phen, told

Reuters

it expects its pharmaceuticals division to achieve earnings growth in the mid-teens percentage range over the next two and possibly three years.

Standard & Poor's

said

Lexmark

(LXK)

would replace

Raychem

(RYC)

in the

S&P 500

after the close of trading Thursday. Raychem is being acquired by

Tyco

(TYC)

In other S&P action,

Calpine

(CPN)

will replace

TCA Cable TV

(TCAT)

in the

S&P MidCap 400

on the same date. TCA Cable is being acquired by

Cox Communications

(COX)

Premier Parks

(PKS)

will replace

Sbarro

(SBA)

in the S&P MidCap 400 on Friday. The Sbarro family is buying the Sbarro shares it doesn't already own.

Chittenden

(CHZ)

will replace

American Bankers Insurance

(ABI)

in the

S&P SmallCap 600

on an unspecified date. American Bankers is being acquired by

Fortis

In other postclose news (earnings estimates from

First Call

; earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified):

Earnings/revenue reports and previews

Gerber Childrenswear

(GWC)

reported second-quarter-earnings of 11 cents a share, below the five-analyst estimate of 17 cents, and down from 21 cents a year ago.

Hispanic Broadcasting

(HBCCA)

reported second-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share, better than the four-analyst estimate of 18 cents, and up from 16 cents a year ago.

Hillenbrand

(HB)

said it expects its third-quarter earnings per share to come in 25 cents to 39 cents below the five-analyst estimate of 64 cents, due to lower sales in the latest quarter.

Offshore Logistics

(OLOG)

reported first-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share, better than the seven-analyst estimate of 11 cents a share but lower than 29 cents a year ago.

Simon Property Group

(SPG) - Get Report

reported second-quarter earnings of 71 cents a share, in line with the 14-analyst estimate and up from 66 cents a year ago.

Salon.com

(SALN)

reported a first-quarter loss of $10.10 a share compared with a year-ago loss of $3.75. The company said the latest quarter included a noncash preferred deemed dividend of $11.5 million. No per-share figures from operating income were provided. The single-analyst estimate was for a 61-cent loss per share.

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

Dominion Resources

(D) - Get Report

and

Consolidated Natural Gas

(CNG)

agreed to sell CNG's

Virginia Natural Gas

distribution subsidiary in exchange for support of the companies' proposed merger by the

Virginia State Corporation Commission

Offerings and stock actions

Gateway

(GTW)

said it plans a 2-for-1 stock split of its common shares on Sept. 7, for shareholders of record Aug. 20.

Interworld's

(INTW:Nasdaq) 3-million share IPO was priced mid-range at $15 a share by lead underwriter

Invemed Associates

Miscellany

Earlier this summer, a group of independent oil producers known as

Save Domestic Oil

filed suit alleging that Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Mexico and Iraq greased prices on crude oil sold in the U.S. The group complained that low prices had rusted independent firms out of business. But the U.S.

Commerce Department

rejected their case on the grounds that opposition from oil companies outweighed support for the case. Commerce said that without industry support, it couldn't ignite an investigation.

Michael Foods

(MIKL)

said it hired

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray

and

Merrill Lynch

to help it pursue strategic options including mergers, acquisitions, or the sale of the company.

Two funds led by financier George Soros sold 9.4 million shares of

IRSA

(IRS) - Get Report

a Latin American real estate company to

Peabody Global Real Estate Partners