Abbott 2nd-Qtr Profit Rises 12% as Competition Hits Antibiotic
Bloomberg News
July 9, 1998, 6:22 a.m. PT
Abbott 2nd-Qtr Profit Rises 12% as Competition Hits Antibiotic
Abbott Park, Illinois, July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Abbott
Laboratories, one of the world's biggest makers of medical tests
and drugs, said second-quarter profit rose 12 percent amid more
competition for its biggest medicine, the antibiotic Biaxin.
Abbott said second-quarter net income rose to $585.6
million, or 38 cents a diluted share, from $521.5 million, or 33
cents a year earlier. Sales rose 5.7 percent to $3.07 billion
from $2.90 billion.
Abbott intends to expand its blood-screening and other
medical tests. In April, it gained control of International Murex
Technologies Corp. Abbott also is selling Biaxin, the world's
third-biggest antibiotic with $1.3 billion in 1997 sales, in a
package with an ulcer drug. The combination could keep Abbott
from losing more market share to Pfizer Inc. antibiotics.
''It's going to help stabilize growth a little bit as they
face more competition,'' said Sarah Ross, an analyst with Edward
Jones, which has a ''buy'' rating on Abbott.
Abbott rose 5/16 yesterday to 42 13/16.
In February, Abbott started sales of a package that contains
its ulcer drug Prevacid and two antibiotics. Abbott won FDA
approval last year for Prevacid in combination with antibiotics
to treat helicobacter pylori infections. This bacteria has been
linked to ulcers.
Abbott's sales of drugs and nutritional products, such as
the drink Ensure, rose 3.5 percent to $1.73 billion from $1.68
billion.
Biaxin faces competition from Pfizer's Zithromax and Trovan
antibiotics. Trovan sales started earlier this year.
Abbott sales of medical diagnostics rose 8.8 percent to
$1.33 billion. Abbott was expected to earn 37 cents a diluted
share, the average estimate of analysts polled by IBES
International Inc.
--Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/dd |
