US-based life sciences firm Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has released its financial results for the second quarter of 2023, reporting strong revenue and profit growth that exceeded analysts’ consensus. Despite a significant drop in sales of COVID-19 diagnostics from USD 2.3 billion a year ago to just USD 263 million in Q2’23, the company’s total sales were down -9.2% year-on-year (YOY) in constant currency terms to USD 9.978 billion. However, this performance outperformed analyst forecasts, and excluding the impact of COVID-related sales, underlying total revenues grew at an impressive 11.5% YOY.
Strong Performance Across Core Business Units
Abbott’s core business units, including nutrition, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, showed strong performance. Excluding the impact of COVID-related products, medical device sales rose 14% to USD 4.3 billion, diagnostics sales increased 7.1% to USD 2.317 billion, nutrition sales grew 9.9% to USD 2.076 billion, and pharmaceuticals sales rose 12.6% to USD 1.287 billion. This demonstrates the company’s ability to drive growth across its diversified portfolio.
Growth in US and International Markets
Both US and International markets contributed to Abbott’s growth, with the US generating USD 3.758 billion in total sales, up 10.9%, and International markets generating USD 6.2 billion, up 11.9%. This broad-based positive performance across geographies highlights the company’s global reach and market penetration.
CEO’s Comments and Full-Year Guidance Update
During the earnings conference call, CEO Robert Ford expressed his satisfaction with the top-line performance, stating it is “very sustainable.” As a result, the full-year guidance for revenue growth was raised to low double-digit from high single-digit previously, reflecting the company’s confidence in its growth trajectory.
China’s Role as a Growth Driver
China was identified as one of the leading growth drivers in the sales of Established Pharmaceuticals, Diagnostics, and electrophysiology. This underscores the importance of the Chinese market in Abbott’s global strategy and its contribution to the company’s overall growth.-Fineline Info & Tech
