Baxter International, which last year split off its drugs unit to form Baxalta, beat analysts' earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance after what it said was a strong first half of the year.

Second-quarter earnings, excluding certain items, were 46 US cents a share, beating the 40 cents average of analysts’ estimates.

Earnings for the full year will be $1.69 to $1.74 a share, it said in a statement on Tuesday, up from the $1.59 to $1.67 the company predicted in April.

Baxter employs just under 1,000 people at plants in Castlebar and Swinford, Co Mayo, where it has had a presence for 44 years. – (Bloomberg )