Abbott profits up in Q3

J&J isn't the only big pharma player that's enjoying a profit boost. Abbott Laboratories announced today that it also had a nice Q3.

The company reported a 51 percent increase in profits, earning $1.08 billion compared with a profit of $717 the previous year. That means earnings per share went from 46 cents to 69 cents.  Revenue rose to $7.5 billion, up 17.6 percent from $6.38 billion, and profits (excluding charges) rose to 79 cents per share (which is two center more than analysts predicted).

"All of Abbott's businesses are performing exceptionally well, ahead of expectations," said Miles D. White (photo), Abbot's Chairman and Chief Executive.

In particular, Abbott is enjoying strong sales, especially for Humira, its arthritis medication, as well as for stents and other devices, such as its Xience V drug-coated stent. Overall, the company has raised its full year expectations.

- read the Associated Press story
- see more at Forbes.com 

ALSO: At the same time, WuXi PharmaTech has lowered its full year expectations to somewhere between $260 million and $265 million, down from $300 million. It didn't reach the $74 million estimates that analysts made, despite being up 96 percent from last year, to $66 million. The company plans to publish Q3 results that are fully audited on November 12. Article

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