WHITEHOUSE STATION — Pharmaceutical giant
Merck & Co., Inc. said Tuesday that fourth quarter earnings grew
by 15 percent from a year ago on sales of established and new
drugs and growth of its managed health care business.
The company reported earnings per diluted share of $1.16
compared with $1.01 in fourth quarter-1997 matching Wall Street
analysts' expectations. Fourth quarter net income increased 13
percent to $1.4 billion on sales of $7.5 billion — up 21
percent from the same period last year.
