There’s no pleasing some people. Abbott (NYSE:ABT) shares were down on Wall Street today, despite the health care products giant reporting strong second-quarter sales and earnings figures — including a nearly 100 percent top-line surge for its coronary stents business.
The Abbott Park, Ill.-based conglomerate reported profits of $1.94 billion, or $1.23 per diluted share, on sales of $9.62 billion for the three months ended June 30. That’s a revenue increase of 9.0 percent and a bottom-line surge of 50.4 percent, compared with the $1.29 billion profit (83 cents diluted EPS) on sales of $8.83 billion during the same period last year.
Excluding some one-time items associated with acquisitions, “cost reduction initiatives,” a writedown of intangible assets and a tax gain from 2010, net earnings were $1.77 billion, or $1.12 per diluted share, up 12.0 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.
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MassDevice Staff Website The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
The quarter also featured a strong performance by Abbott’s coronary stent unit. Total sales were up 96.8 percent to $1.05 billion; U.S. sales rose 71.3 percent to $478 million and international sales rose 124.8 percent to $571 million.
“Abbott is well-positioned for a strong second half of the year as we remain on track for double-digit EPS growth in 2011,” chairman & CEO Miles White said in prepared remarks. “We’re also pleased with our growth in emerging markets, as well as the progress of our broad-based pipeline, including several new product approvals, regulatory submissions and clinical trial initiations.”
The company boosted its diluted EPS guidance for the fully year to between $4.58 and $4.68, up from $4.54 to $4.64, excluding special items.
That failed to impress The Street, where ABT shares were down about 1 percent to $52.40 in mid-day trading.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal is the online journal of the medical devices industry in the Commonwealth and New England, providing day-to-day coverage of the devices that save lives, the people behind them, and the burgeoning trends and developments within the industry.
