Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT)
Shares of Abbott Laboratories were down 1.79% in the final hours of regular trading on Wednesday after the company cut its earnings outlook for the full year. Investors also took note of its third-quarter profit, which went down 6.6% due to higher tax expense.
The Illinois-based firm said that solid growth in its diagnostics and medical device businesses helped push sales to $7.7 billion from $6.83 billion. Abbott stock has added more than 22% since the beginning of the year.
ABT Earnings & Outlook
The company posted earnings of $563 million, or $0.32 per share, for the three months to September 30, 2018. This compares with $603 million, or $0.34 per share, in the same period last year.
After stripping out special items, earnings came in at $0.75 per share, in line with estimates of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Sales were $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared with $6.83 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were expecting third-quarter sales of $7.65 billion.
Abbott’s diagnostics saw sales grow 42.6% to $1.824 billion, but fell short of expectations of $1.83 billion sales. Medical devices and nutrition segments surpassed the estimates of Wall Street analysts.
Nutrition segment recorded sales of $1.838 billion, a jump of 4%, with medical devices sales also jumping 8.4% to $2.815 billion.
For the full year, the company hopes to report adjusted earnings from continuing operations in the range of $2.87 to $2.89 per share, from its earlier forecast of between $2.85 to $2.91 per share.
Abbott Laboratories CEO Comments
“We achieved another quarter of strong growth and our new product pipeline continues to be highly productive. In spite of increasing currency headwinds, we’re well-positioned to achieve the upper end of our initial full-year guidance,” commented Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott Laboratories.
Abbott Laboratories Company Profile
Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Nutritional Products, Diagnostic Products, Cardiovascular and Neuromodulation Products, and Other.
The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products. The Nutritional Products segment caters to the worldwide sales of adult and pediatric nutritional products.
The Diagnostic Products segment markets diagnostic systems and tests for blood banks, hospitals, commercial laboratories, and alternate-care testing sites. The Vascular Products segment trades coronary, endovascular, structural heart, vessel closure, and other medical device products.
The Other segment comprises of Abbott Medical Optics. The company was founded by Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, IL. – CNN Money
