Abbott (NYSE:ABT) today edged past Wall Street’s forecast with its 2nd-quarter results, despite a -6% slump for its medical device business, buoyed by a more than 31% boost from its established pharmaceuticals division.
The Abbott Park, Ill.-based healthcare giant posted profits of $784 million, or 52¢ per share, on sales of $5.17 billion for the 3 months ended June 30. Abbott also stood fast on its guidance for full-year earnings per share at $1.50 to $1.60, with adjusted EPS at $2.10 to $2.20.
“We’ve achieved another quarter of strong sales growth led by our global diagnostics and branded generics businesses,” chairman & CEO Miles White said in prepared remarks. “We’re well on track to achieve our financial objectives for the year despite a challenging currency environment.”
Sales for Abbott’s medical device division slid -6.1% to $1.29 billion compared with Q2 2014. U.S. medical device sales were rose 3.0% to $505 million, Abbott said, with international sales for the unit down -11.2%% to $784 million.
Abbott said overall vascular device sales dipped -5.6% to $722 million, but rose 3.0% to $ 298 million in the U.S. to offset a -12.4% slide overseas to $424 million.
The MitraClip device for treating a heart valve disorder was a bright spot for the vascular business during the quarter, growing at a double-digit clip, Abbott said.
Diabetes sales slid -5.3% to $278 million and medical optics sales were off -8.0% to $289 million, the company said.
ABT shares rose 2.6% to an all-time high of $51.03 apiece in mid-day trading today, before easing to $50.94.
