Abbott Labs 3rd-Qtr Profit Rise 13% on Medical Tests, Drugs
Bloomberg News
October 8, 1998, 9:39 a.m. ET
Abbott Labs 3rd-Qtr Profit Rise 13% on Medical Tests, Drugs
Abbott Park, Illinois, Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Abbott
Laboratories, one of the world's biggest makers of drugs,
medical devices and health tests, said third-quarter profit rose
13 percent as it sold more hospital equipment and medicines, such
as the ulcer remedy Prevacid.
Net income rose to $531.7 million, or 34 cents a diluted
share, from $471.4 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier,
adjusted for a stock split. Abbott was expected to earn 34 cents
a diluted share, the average estimate of analysts polled by First
Call Corp.
Sales rose 6 percent to $3.0 billion to $2.87 billion.
''Prevacid is doing extremely well,'' said Alex Zisson, an
analyst with Hambrecht & Quist, who has a ''buy'' rating on the
stock. ''Over time, Abbott is becoming more and more of a drug
company.''
Abbott fell 1 1/8 to 41 13/16 yesterday as the Standard &
Poor's 500 Index fell 13.91 to 970.68. The stock hasn't opened
for trading this morning.
Abbott's sales of pharmaceuticals and nutritional products,
such as the infant formula Similac, rose 5.5 percent to $1.72
billion from $1.63 billion. The group includes drugs such as
Depakote to treat epilepsy and manic-depression, and the
antibiotic Biaxin, which is facing increased competition from
Pfizer Inc.'s Zithromax.
--Kerry Dooley in the Princeton newsroom (609) 279-4016/ mos |
