Genentech Inc. will likely report 1998 earnings...

Genentech Inc. will likely report 1998 earnings of $1.30 a share, beating forecasts. South San Francisco-based Genentech, which is majority-owned by Roche Holding, reported 1997 earnings of $1.02 a share. Analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. forecast it will report 1998 profit of $1.28. Genentech Chief Financial Officer Louis Lavigne Jr. said profit will likely exceed forecasts, thanks to strong sales of Rituxan, a drug the company developed with Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. and started selling in December 1997. Sales also will be buoyed if the Food and Drug Administration approves Genentech’s breast cancer drug Herceptin.