Abbot Labs' earnings beat estimates despite sharp drop

Abbott Laboratories reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profit as strong demand for its medical device business came good.

However, the healthcare company also posted earnings declining by 22% from the previous year amid higher expenses.

The company posted a profit of $615m, or 41 cents per share, down from $784mn, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.

Abbott, which takes in two-thirds of its revenue from outside the United States, said emerging market sales increased 1.1% but would have risen 4.8% excluding the impact of its Venezuelan operations.

Economic turmoil in Venezuela led to an inflation rate of 141.5% and a hit to any business involved in the country.

The company's results, however, beat Wall Street estimates, largely helped by its booming medical device arm, where sales rose 6.4% to $1.37bn in the second quarter.

Abbott is currently in the process of taking over St. Jude Medical to the tune of $25bn, in the middle of a flurry of activity in the healthcare market.

For the second quarter, sales rose 1.4% in Abbott's nutrition segment, the company's largest. Recently launched infant and toddler GMO-free baby food and formula and strong performance in several countries in Latin America and Asia drove a 4.3% increase on an operational basis.

Overall, sales climbed 3.2% at the same time as operational revenue, which factors out currency changes, increased 6.4%.