Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced that it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter from year-earlier results that were reduced by charges for acquisition costs. Abbott's drugs Humira, Depakote, TriCor, and Kaletra all posted double-digit sales gains.
For the quarter ending December 31, Abbott earned $1.2 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with a loss of $476.2 million, or 31 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $7.22 billion from $6.22 billion, exceeding the $6.97 billion estimated by analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Adjusted earnings, excluding certain items, rose to 93 cents per share, a penny better than analysts' consensus estimate. For the full year, Abbott earned $3.6 billion, or $2.31 a share, compared with $1.72 billion, or $1.12 a share, in 2006. Revenue increased 15% to $25.9 billion from $22.5 billion.
Shares were down about 2% to 56.20 by midday on Wednesday.
For more news on Abbott Labs, see BloggingStocks' Abbott coverage.
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