Preparing to Go Public, Texas-Based Eye Care Firm Alcon Details Finances.

Publication: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2002 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Byline: Trebor Banstetter

Feb. 26--FORT WORTH, Texas--Since 1999, sales have steadily increased at eye care company Alcon Laboratories, but profits tumbled nearly 10 percent as overhead swelled and management prepared to introduce a new glaucoma drug.

The decline in net earnings was disclosed in a voluminous report that Alcon filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday. Meanwhile, Nestle, its parent company, announced that it will offer 23 percent of Alcon's stock, worth as much as $2.4 billion, for sale on the New York Stock Exchange in late March.

It's the first time in more than two decades that Alcon, the world's leading eye care company, has released a detailed accounting of its finances, structure and long-term business strategy. Since 1978, when Nestle bought the company, Alcon executives have had to disclose little...

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