MONSANTO <MTC> SAYS DEBT WAS CUT IN 1986
Mondanto Co said it has paid off
two-thirds of the debt from its 2.8 billion-dlr acquisition of
G.D. Searle and Co by the end of 1986.
    This lowered the company's debt-to-capitalization ratio
from 45 pct at the end of 1985 to 35 pct, it said.
    The company also said that chemical sales accounted for 52
pct of its sales in 1986, down from 70 pct in 1981. This
underscores its strategy of shifting away from low profit
commodity chemicals in mature markets into higher value
chemical businesses in high growth areas, it said.
 Reuter
