Abbott Laboratories Posts Solid Q3 Earnings, Trims Full-Year Forecast
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Abbott Laboratories (ABT) - Get Report posted third quarter earnings that were largely in-line with analysts' forecasts, but trimmed the upper end of its full-year profit outlook as international sales were hit by a stronger U.S. dollar.
Abbott said earnings for the three months ending in September, adjusted for certain items, came in at 75 cents a share, matching the consensus forecast and rising 13.6% from the same period last year. Sales for the quarter rose 12.1% on a reported basis to $7.7 billion, the company said, just ahead of the $7.65 billion estimate. Abbott said full-year earnings from continuing operations should rise to a range of $2.87 to $2.89 per share, down from a prior forecast of $2.85 to $2.91 per share published in July.
"We achieved another quarter of strong growth and our new product pipeline continues to be highly productive," said CEO Miles White. "In spite of increasing currency headwinds, we're well-positioned to achieve the upper end of our initial full-year guidance."
Action Alerts Plus holding Abbott shares were marked 1.4% lower at the opening bell Wednesday and changing hands at $69.97 a share, a move that would trim the stock's year-to-date advance to around 21%.
Abbott's unadjusted earnings fell 6.6% to $563 million, or 32 cents a share, as tax expenses on earnings more than doubled to $166 million.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currency peers, rose 0.7% over the three months ending in September and 1.33% against the European single currency.
Abbott's nutrition sales rose 4% to $1.838 billion while its medical device sales, the largest revenue component, rose 8.4% to $2.815 billion world wide. Diagnostics sales surged 42.6% to $1.824 billion, the company said.