By Dean Seal

Abbott Labs recorded higher earnings and revenue in the first quarter as strong demand for its nutritional products and medical devices offset weakness in other segments.

The healthcare products company posted a profit of $1.33 billion, or 76 cents a share, compared with $1.23 billion, or 70 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were $1.09 a share, 2 cents above the consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 4% to $10.36 billion, missing analyst forecasts for $10.41 billion, according to FactSet.

The Abbott Park, Ill.-based maker of Pedialyte said pediatric nutrition sales were up 3.2% while adult nutrition revenue rose 4.4%, citing strong growth for its Glucerna brand and Ensure line of shakes and beverages.

Worldwide medical device sales were up almost 10%, led by diabetes care, structural heart, heart failure and electrophysiology categories.

Sales in its global diagnostics division were down 7.2%, but up slightly when excluding revenue from Covid-19 testing products.

Core laboratory diagnostics sales were down about 2.3%, which Abbott attributed to volume-based procurement programs in China.

Chief Executive Robert Ford said the company has been able to navigate recent macroeconomic uncertainty with a diverse portfolio.

Abbott projects adjusted earnings of $1.23 to $1.27 a share for the current quarter. It is maintaining guidance for organic sales to be up 7.5% to 8.5% this year and for adjusted earnings to hit $5.05 to $5.25 a share.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2025 07:59 ET (11:59 GMT)

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