Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) saw its shares gain in early New York trading after it reported solid fourth quarter earnings, although the headline numbers reflected a hit from US tax changes.
The medical products group reported a loss per share of 50 US cents a share in the fourth quarter, mainly because of a US$1.46bn charge related to the corporate tax reforms.
Excluding that impact and other one-offs, Abbot’s quarterly EPS was 74 US cents a share, beating estimates of 73 US cents.
The firm’s like-for-like operational sales rose 7.7%, and its established pharmaceuticals sales grew by 14%.
Abbott said it expects its full-year 2018 adjusted earnings to be between US$2.80 and US$2.90 a share.
For the first quarter of 2018, it expects adjusted earnings per share of between 57 US cents and 59 US cents.
After an hour of trading, Abbott Labs shares were up 4% at US$61.59.