NEW YORK – Abbott said Thursday that its second quarter Diagnostics sales dipped 5 percent to $2.20 billion compared to $2.31 billion in the prior-year quarter.
For the three months ended June 30, the Abbott Park, Illinois-based firm reported overall revenues rose 4 percent year over year to $10.38 billion from $9.98 billion and beat the consensus Wall Street estimate of $10.37 billion.
On an organic basis, Abbott's worldwide Diagnostics sales fell 2 percent from a year ago. Excluding COVID-19 test sales, Diagnostics revenues grew 6 percent organically.
Companywide revenues were up 7 percent organically year over year in Q2, and excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, total revenues were up 9 percent organically.
Within Diagnostics, Core Laboratory Q2 revenues rose 3 percent year over year to $1.33 billion from $1.29 billion; Molecular revenues decreased 10 percent to $127 million from $141 million; and Point of Care revenues increased 10 percent to $156 million from $142 million. The firm reported $583 million in Rapid Diagnostics sales, a 21 percent decrease from Q2 2023 sales of $741 million.
On a conference call to discuss the firm's financial results, Abbott CEO Robert Ford said that core laboratory growth was driven by demand for immunoassays, clinical chemistry, hematology, and blood screening.
The firm's diagnostics business has also benefitted from contract renewals and competitive win rates on its Alinity instruments. The firm saw "several recent large account wins" that it expects to increasingly contribute to growth in the second half of 2024, Ford said.
Global COVID-19 testing sales were $102 million in the second quarter of 2024, compared to $263 million in the year-ago period, the firm said. Ford added that the toughest comparisons related to previous COVID-19 testing sales are finished.
In Abbott's other businesses, Nutrition sales grew nearly 4 percent to $2.15 billion; Established Pharmaceuticals grew 1 percent to $1.29 billion; and Medical Devices grew 10 percent to $4.73 billion.
Ford noted that all four of Abbott's businesses have been "delivering outstanding growth" and "innovating and fulfilling our purpose and our mission."
Abbott reported Q2 net earnings of $1.30 billion, or $.74 per share, compared to net earnings of $1.38 billion, or $.78 per share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, EPS was $1.14, topping analysts' consensus estimate of $1.10 per share.
For full-year 2024, Abbott raised its guidance and now anticipates diluted earnings per share of $3.30 to $3.40 and adjusted EPS to be between $4.61 and $4.71. The firm also expects full-year 2024 organic sales growth excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales to be between 9.5 percent and 10 percent.
For Q3, Abbott is forecasting diluted earnings per share of $.85 to $.89. Adjusted EPS is expected to be between $1.18 and $1.22.
In early morning trading on the Nasdaq, Abbott's shares were down 3 percent at $101.95.