Abbott (NYSE:ABT) today reported second-quarter results that came in ahead of the consensus expectation, with its medical device division posting sales growth of more than 11%, and raised its earnings outlook for the rest of the year.
The Chicago-area healthcare giant posted profits of $733 million, or 41¢ per share, on sales of $7.77 billion for the three months ended June 30, for profit growth of 159.0% on sales growth of 17.0% compared with Q2 2017.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 73¢, two pennies ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $7.71 billion.
Abbott’s medical devices division grew sales 11.3% to $2.89 billion, with cardiovascular and neuromodulation sales up 7.1% to $2.42 billion and diabetes revenues up 39.8% to $470 million.
Its nutrition business grew sales to $1.86 billion, up 7.3%, with diagnostics sales surging 47.2% to $1.87 billion. Pharmaceutical sales rose 10.5% to $1.13 billion.
“All four of our businesses exceeded expectations and contributed to strong growth overall,” chairman & CEO Miles White said in prepared remarks. “We forecast continued strong performance and are raising our full-year outlook despite recent currency shifts.”
Abbott said it now expects to put up adjusted EPS of $2.85 to $2.91 this year, up from $2.80 to $2.90. Third-quarter adjusted EPS are pegged at 73¢ to 75¢, the company said.
ABT shares rose 2.6% to $64.40 apiece today in pre-market trading.
