Abbott beats profit estimates on strong medical device sales

ABBOTT Laboratories reported quarterly profit above expectations on Wednesday (Apr 19), driven by sales of its diabetes care devices and an improved demand for other devices due to a resumption in non-urgent medical procedures.

Improvement in staffing levels at hospitals across the US, along with the easing of pandemic restrictions in various countries were expected to aid in the recovery of procedure volumes, and in turn, help Abbott and other medical device makers generate strong sales this quarter.

Sales of medical devices – Abbott’s largest segment – grew 8.5 per cent to US$3.90 billion, of which glucose monitoring device Freestyle Libre reported a revenue of US$1.2 billion. Analysts had estimated the segment’s sales to be US$3.77 billion.

The sales of medical devices mirror a trend seen by rival Johnson & Johnson, which on Tuesday posted better-than-expected sales for the segment.

Excluding one-off items, the company reported a profit of US$1.03 per share for the first quarter ended Mar 31, higher than the average of analysts’ estimates of 99 cents per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

The healthcare giant retained its adjusted profit forecast for this year at US$4.30-US$4.50 per share, as it expects growth of its non-Covid-testing-related revenue to offset a decline in its testing kit sales.

Abbott cut its Covid-testing-related sales forecast to US$1.5 billion from US$2 billion. REUTERS