Abbott Laboratories reported on Wednesday that profit plummeted 22 percent from last year, mainly due to higher expenses. However, adjusted earnings surpassed analysts’ estimates by 2 cents and revenue also surged, driven by recent product launches.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s Absorb dissolving heart stent. Chief Executive Officer Miles D. White said recent approvals and launches like Symfony, its intraocular lenses for curing cataracts, and Absorb are driving growth.
The company said that sales in its nutrition segment rose 1.4 percent in the latest quarter ended in June. Recently introduced infant and toddler GMO-free baby food and formula, as well as strong performance in several countries in Asia and Latin America drove a 4.3 percent jump on an operational basis.
Overall sales increased 3.2 percent whereas operational revenue jumped 6.4 percent.
Abbott reported earnings of $615 million, or 41 cents per share for the quarter, below $784 million, or 52 cents per share, one year ago. Excluding items, such as costs associated with acquisitions, profit per share was 55 cents in the three-months period ended June.
Net sales came in at $5.33 billion, up from $5.17 billion one year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of 53 cents per share on $5.24 billion in revenue.
St. Jude Medical on Wednesday reported that strong demand lifted revenue 11 percent in its latest quarter. Earlier this year, Abbott decided to acquire St. Jude in a transaction valued at $25 billion amid a flurry of deals in the health-care industry. Abbott and St. Jude are expecting the merger to close in the fourth quarter.
In the recent quarter, Abbott’s operating costs and expenses surged 1.7 percent to $4.52 billion. The company backed its adjusted earnings outlook of $2.14 per share to $2.24 per share.
