WESSANEN FORESEES STRONG PROFIT GROWTH

  Dutch dairy and general foods
  manufacturer Koninklijke Wessanen NV &lt;WESS.AS>, said it is
  planning further world-wide acquisitions and forsees strong
  profit growth over the next 10 years.
       Company chairman Gerrit van Driel told journalists at the
  presentation of Wessanen's 1986 report he already expected 1987
  first quarter profits to show an increase.
      The company last month reported a 16 pct increase in 1986
  net profits to 72.7 mln guilders, after 62.3 mln in 1985.
      This was achieved despite a 25 pct drop in the dollar's
  guilder value, van Driel said.
      Van Driel said profits would have been nine mln guilders
  higher if the US currency had remained at its average 1985
  level of 3.20 guilders.
      Turnover, at 3.7 billion guilders in 1986, was 450 mln
  guilders down because of the lower dollar and lower raw
  material prices. Total 1985 turnover was 4.2 billion guilders.
      US activities accounted for 34 pct of 1986 turnover,
  compared with 22 pct in 1982. Wessanen now has 15 separate
  businesses in the US out of a total of 62 world-wide.
      Van Driel said the company would continue an active
  takeover policy in the US, but would be wary about paying more
  than its current price/earnings ratio of 17 times net profit.
      He added that Wessanen teams were seeking acquisition
  possibilities in Brazil, Taiwan, Thailand and China.
      He said the company had an ample cashflow of 100 mln
  guilders and would if necessary make new share issues.
      Van Driel said he expected a 1987 US turnover of 700 mln
  dlrs. He said &lt;Balanced Foods> and &lt;Green's Dairy>, taken over
  late last year, have a combined annual turnover of 126 mln dlrs
  which was not included in the 1986 account.
      All sectors saw strong growth in 1986, resulting in a 13
  pct increase in operating income to 120 mln guilders. Key to
  this growth was the successful introduction of new products,
  which were greatly enhanced by a number of consumer-oriented US
  acquisitions, van Driel said.
      Consumer products represented 50 pct of total 1986
  turnover, compared with 35 pct in 1982, van Driel said.
      The company, which is already listed on the London, Zurich,
  Basle and Geneva stock exchanges as well as Amsterdam, aims to
  be quoted in Frankfurt and Dusseldorf in May, van Driel said.
      Van Driel stressed that while these listings would not be
  accompanied by new share issues, they provided easy vehicles
  for the company to raise capital for future expansion.
      He estimated that 33 pct of the company's shares were in
  foreign hands.
      The company's 1986 US turnover of about 750 mln dlrs made a
  listing on one of the New York exchanges a logical next step,
  van Driel said without elaborating.
      Despite EC dairy restrictions Wessanen, which produces
  around 10 pct of all Dutch cheese, saw good growth prospects
  for its dairy sector within Europe, van Driel said.
  

