Abbott (NYSE:ABT) missed expectations with its 2nd-quarter sales but still managed to exceed earnings forecasts, sending shares up this morning on Wall Street.
The Chicago-area company posted profits of $476 million, or 64¢ per share, on sales of $5.45 billion during the 3 months ended June 30, for sales growth of 2.5% but a bottom-line slide of 72.4%.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, however, earnings per share were 46¢ apiece, ahead of The Street’s 44¢ forecast.
"All things considered, including headwinds from foreign exchange and a mixed global economy, this was a good quarter," chairman & CEO Miles White said in prepared remarks.
Abbott affirmed its earnings guidance for the rest of the year, saying it still expects to post adjusted EPS of $1.98 to $2.04 and diluted EPS of $1.39 to $1.45, taking into account an expected 59¢ in 1-time items.
Sales for Abbott’s medical device segment were $1.36 billion during the quarter, down 1.6% compared with Q2 2012.
Sales for Abbott’s vascular devices division were $1.49 billion, down 2.0%, including a 13.4% decline to $562 million in the U.S.
"Abbott expects worldwide sales growth to improve over the course of the year, with the continued uptake of Xience Xpedition in the U.S., the launch of Xience Xpedition in Japan, which was announced last week, and continued international penetration of new products, MitraClip and Absorb," according to a press release.
ABT shares were up 1.7% to $36.30 apiece as of about 9:50 this morning.