NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Abbott reported on Wednesday morning that its third quarter diagnostic revenues shrunk 2 percent year over year as its molecular diagnostics sales dropped 5 percent, both due to unfavorable currency effects.
The Abbott Park, Illinois-based company reported total worldwide revenues of $5.15 billion for the three months ended June 30, up 1 percent from $5.08 billion a year ago and edging out the Wall Street estimate of $5.14 billion. On an adjusted basis, excluding a nearly 10 percent foreign currency headwind, Q3 sales increased 11 percent, the company said.
Abbott's Worldwide Diagnostics sales fell 2 percent to $1.16 billion on a reported basis, including an unfavorable 10 percent foreign currency effect. On an operational basis, Diagnostics sales increased 8 percent.
Within the Diagnostics unit, molecular diagnostics sales totaled $113 million, down 5 percent from the prior-year quarter on a reported basis and including an unfavorable 8 percent foreign currency effect. On an operational basis, MDx sales grew 3 percent.
Abbott said that sales in its core focus area of infectious disease testing increased double digits in the quarter on an operational basis. As expected, US growth was impacted by "the planned scale-down of the genetics business and continued market dynamics in oncology," the company said in a statement.
Also within the Diagnostics segment, core laboratory sales fell 3 percent to $925 million, and point of care sales increased 10 percent to $118 million.
In other business units, Nutrition sales decreased a fraction of a percent on a reported basis to $1.79 billion; Established Pharmaceuticals jumped 25 percent to $961 million; and Medical Devices shrunk 9 percent to $1.23 billion.
Abbott's R&D expenses grew 24 percent to $378 million from $305 million, while its SG&A expenses grew 5 percent to $1.67 billion from $1.60 billion.
Abbott's Q2 net income was $580 million, or $.38 per share, compared to $538 million, or $.36 per share, in Q2 2014. Excluding special items, Abbott's Q2 EPS was also $.54 per share, the same as Q3 2014 and besting analysts' consensus estimate of $.53 per share.
The company narrowed its full-year 2015 adjusted EPS guidance range for continuing operations to between $2.14 and $2.16 from a previous guidance of $2.10 to $2.20. Its projected GAAP EPS for continuing operations is $1.59 to $1.61.