Abbott Laboratories today said its quarterly profit rose, as higher gross margins helped offset a sales shortfall from certain products it no longer distributes.
Abbott operates six plants in the Republic employing more than 2,200 people and is one of the most significant multinational employers. Last month it announced plans for a €36 million investment in Donegal, creating 155 jobs.
Abbott said it earned $864.9 million, or 56 cents per share, in the first quarter compared with $837.9 million, or 53 cents a share, a year ago.
The 2006 quarter includes the impact of stock options expensing, while the 2005 quarter does not.
Excluding items but including the stock options expense, earnings were 57 cents per share.
Revenue fell 3.7 per cent $5.18 billion, reflecting discontinued sales of lower-margin products it previously distributed for German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim.
Adjusting both periods for the amendment of its Boehringer distribution agreement, net sales increased by 5.2 per cent. The shedding of sales from lower-margin Boehringer products helped boost gross margins by about 500 basis points versus the first quarter of 2005.
Sales of Humira, its popular rheumatoid arthritis drug, rose 46 per cent in the United States and 60.8 per cent globally. The negative impact of exchange rates reduced net global sales growth to 38.9 per cent.
JP Morgan analyst Mike Weinstein, in a research note before Abbott's earnings, had been looking for a 42 per cent gain in US sales of Humira.
Abbott backed its earnings outlook for the full year of 2006 of $2.51 to $2.57 per share, before specific items but including the impact of stock options expense. It sees second-quarter earnings per share before items of 59 to 61 cents.