Abbott’s medical device sales helped boost its net sales and meet quarterly expectations, but the company forecast weak earnings for the rest of the year, according to its latest earnings report released Wednesday morning.
During Q4 2023, Abbott’s sales increased 1.5% to $10.2 billion, with medical device sales up 17.5% year-over-year. Nutrition was another segment that finished the quarter with double digit sales growth, but its diagnostics division saw sales decline 22.7% while established pharmaceuticals inched up 0.5%.
In terms of organic growth excluding COVID-19 tests, Abbott notched 11% sales growth for the quarter.
However, for the full year, net sales fell 8.1% to $40.1 billion, hampered by a 39.4% plunge in diagnostics sales associated with the ongoing decline in demand for COVID products. Nutrition and medical devices both posted respectable year-over-year growth numbers, but not enough to overcome the impact of diagnostics.
Again accounting for organic growth excluding COVID tests, the company achieved 11.6% sales growth.
Abbott finished 2023 with an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.26, exceeding its guidance issued at the end of Q3, along with an adjusted EPS of $4.44, which was within the projected range.
As for the year ahead, Abbott projected full year organic sales growth, excluding COVID sales, to be in the range of 8% to 10%.
Abbott also projected an EPS between $3.20 to $3.40. The company noted that it forecasts specified items related to “intangible amortization, costs associated with acquisitions, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives” that will record an impact of $1.30 per share for the year.
Abbott’s lukewarm earnings release didn’t inspire much confidence among those on Wall Street, with the company’s stock trading down more than 3% on Wednesday morning.
“The strength and diversity of the Abbott portfolio drove our success in 2023,” Abbott CEO Robert B. Ford said in a statement. “We’re entering 2024 with a lot of positive momentum, and with our highly productive pipeline, we’re well-positioned for growth in 2024 and beyond.”
Outside of its financial performance, Abbott also announced a pair of celebrity-led awareness campaigns last quarter.
In October, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin teamed up as an ambassador for Abbott’s HeartMates program in order to raise awareness about heart conditions.
One month later, Abbott rolled out an installation at the Oculus Center in New York City for National Diabetes Awareness Month that featured comedian and talk show host Sherri Shepherd.
To read a January 2024 article about Abbott debuting its protein shake brand Protality, click here.
To read an April 2024 article about Abbott beating Wall Street expectations for Q1 2024, click here.
