Abbott
(NYSE: ABT)
shares rose today on first-quarter results that beat the consensus forecast.
Shares of ABT ticked up 5.2% at $109.55 apiece after the market opened today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — remained unmoved early on.
The Abbott Park, Illinois-based company posted profits of $1.3 billion. That amounts to 75¢ per share on sales of $9.7 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Abbott posted a 46.1% bottom-line slide on a sales decline of 18.1%. The main source of the declines came in diagnostics, with year-over-year dips in COVID-19 testing-related sales. Abbott — which called the decline “expected” — said its worldwide COVID-19 testing sales totaled $730 million in the quarter. That compares to $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share came in at $1.03. That landed 4¢ ahead of expectations on Wall Street. Abbott posted a sales beat, too, as analysts projected $9.64 billion in revenues.
The company’s worldwide medical device sales provided a large boost, growing 8.5% year over year. Abbott attributed this growth to its diabetes care, structural heart, heart failure and neuromodulation businesses.
“Our first-quarter results reflect a very strong start to the year,” said Robert B. Ford, chair and CEO, Abbott. “Growth in our underlying base businesses accelerated, including particularly strong results in medical devices, established pharmaceuticals and nutrition.”
Abbott projects adjusted EPS for 2023 to range between $4.30 and $4.50. That remains unchanged from previous projections. It also reflects an increased out look for underlying base business. That is, however, offset by lower forecasts for COVID-19 testing-related sales.
Analyst’s view on Abbott
BTIG analyst Marie Thibault called Abbott’s organic growth in devices impressive while dealing with the COVID-19 testing revenue dips.
“We continue to believe [Abbott] is positioned well in the event of any market pullback or recession, as we think the company’s balance sheet, firepower, and Dividend King status make it a safe haven,” Thibault wrote.
