Abbott Laboratories profit beats forecast, but sales lag

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Abbott Laboratories profit beats forecast, but sales lag

Abbott Laboratories Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, but combined sales of its nutritional products, medical devices and generic medicines were slightly below Wall Street expectations. Analysts, on average, were expecting 36 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Wells Fargo analyst Lawrence Biegelsen said operating expenses of $2 billion in the quarter were $100 million below his forecasts, and bolstered results. Shares were up 0.4 percent at $38.14 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, amid a 0.7 percent gain for the ARCA Pharmaceutical Index of large drugmakers. "But management is very confident that business will accelerate in the remainder of the year, led by nutritionals, where they should be able to recapture market share." Sales of nutritional products, the company's biggest product line which includes Similac infant formula and Ensure beverages for adults, fell 4 percent to $1.63 billion in the quarter.

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