Chiron Expects ’98 Earnings to Be On Target

Chiron Corp., one of the world’s biggest biotechnology companies, told investors it expects its 1998 earnings to be in line with the range of analyst estimates. James Sulat, Chiron’s chief financial officer, said in a presentation at the Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference in New York that the company is “pretty comfortable” with a range of 46 cents to 50 cents a share for its 1998 profit. Sulat said that’s the range of estimates given by analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. Last year, Emeryville-based Chiron sold its diagnostics unit to Bayer of Germany for $1.1 billion to focus on developing drugs. Chiron’s products include its cancer drug Proleukin, as well as vaccines for diphtheria, flu and tetanus. Sulat said Chiron wants to increase revenue by 10% and earnings by 25% this year. Chiron shares were unchanged at $23 on Nasdaq.