Abbott's FY09 profits up, despite flat Q4

Abbott Laboratories and its subsidiaries have posted a slight uptick of net earnings by 0.2 percent in the 2009 fourth quarter ($1.54 billion), compared with the prior-year quarter; and declared a larger growth earnings gap of 17.7 percent for the 2009 fiscal year ($5.75 billion), compared with the previous year.

For the 2009 fourth quarter, the total reported sales were $8.79 billion, representing a 10.6 percent increase over the 2008 fourth quarter. The fourth quarter global vascular sales were $723 million, indicating an increase of 9.1 percent over the 2008 fourth quarter; and its worldwide pharmaceutical sales were $4.85 billion—a 5.2 percent increase over of the prior-year quarter.

For 2009, the Abbott Park, Ill.-based company recorded total sales of $30.77 billion, a 4.2 percent increase over 2008. The fourth quarter global vascular sales were $16.49 billion, indicating a strong 20 percent surge over the 2008 fourth quarter; and its worldwide pharmaceutical sales were $4.85 billion—a 1.3 percent decrease compared with the prior-year quarter.

In the U.S., Abbott said that its coronary stent sales were $261 million in the 2009 fourth quarter, representing a slight downturn of 2.3 percent over the previous-year quarter; and the international sales were $169 million, showing an 18.3 percent increase of the 2008 fourth quarter.

For 2009, Abbott said that its U.S. coronary stent sales were $1.03 billion, representing a strong showing of 53.8 percent over the previous-year quarter; and the international sales were $589 million, showing an 11.3 percent increase over 2008.

"Abbott's 2009 results demonstrated the sustainable strength and balance of our broad-based businesses," said Miles D. White, Abbott's chairman and CEO. "We took decisive long-term strategic actions in 2009 to ensure our strong results continue for years to come."

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