BAYER CONFIDENT OF POSTING GOOD 1987 RESULTS Chemicals group Bayer AG <BAYG.F> said it expects to post another good result in 1987 after raising pre-tax profit to a new record high in 1986. The company said that this was despite the mark's further strengthening against the dollar and other currencies and despite an increase in competitive pressure. "The further progress of our business will depend largely on the extent to which threats to free trade materialise and on the developments of exchange rates, raw material and energy costs. Bayer said world group pre-tax profit rose to 3.30 billion marks in 1986, exceeding the previous year's record of 3.15 billion. Parent company pre-tax profit increased to 1.72 billion from 1.62 billion. The company gave no net profit figures or any indication of the likely 1986 dividend. Bayer paid a 10-mark dividend on 1985 results, up one mark from a year earlier. Bayer said that world group operating profit declined slightly in 1986 against 1985 but non-operating results showed a further improvement. Bayer said that the decline in world group turnover to 40.75 billion marks from 45.93 billion in 1985 reflected mainly the sharp fall in the dollar against the mark. Lower prices on the raw material side had also brought pressure on selling prices, it added. In volume terms, however, 1986 sales rose slightly against 1985, the company said without giving details. "The western Europe, North America and Far East regions developed well in local currency, but here too the translation of local currency sales into marks distorted the picture, especially in the case of North America," it said. Bayer said parent company volume sales were also higher in 1986, although turnover fell 4.3 pct to 16.77 billion marks. Capacity use was high at the parent company in 1986, resulting in a decline in marginal unit costs. This, combined with savings in raw material and energy costs, helped offset falling prices and cost increases in other areas. The rise in pre-tax parent company profit was due to lower extraordinary expenses and higher net interest income. Plastics, organic chemicals, polyurethanes and coating raw materials all developed well, it said. Turning to the 1986 fourth quarter, Bayer said that world group turnover fell to 9.67 billion marks in the last three months of 1986 from 10.43 billion in the same 1985 period. Parent company turnover in the fourth quarter fell 7.1 pct to 3.69 billion marks, with domestic turnover 4.1 pct lower and foreign turnover 8.6 pct lower. Exports accounted for 65.3 pct of turnover in the quarter against 66.4 pct in the same quarter of 1985.