Abbott reports financial results

Abbott has announced its financial results for the 2006 fiscal year, reporting a 0.6 per cent increase in sales to $22.48 billion (11.41 billion pounds), with pharmaceutical sales dropping 9.5 per cent worldwide to $12.4 billion.

The company reported net earnings of $1.72 billion, a fall of 49.1 per cent from the previous year, in part due to the company’s acquisition of Kos Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Abbott announced a 45.9 per cent increase in sales of Humira, its treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, with sales exceeding $2 billion for the year.

Miles D White, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, said: “2006 was a highly productive and successful year for Abbot.

“We completed several major transformational changes that significantly strengthened the mix of our broad-based portfolio as well as the diversity of our strong cash flows.”

He added that the company had made a number of strategic changes in the past eight years which have helped the company consistently achieve high growth and double-digit performance in earnings.

Abbott’s acquisition of Kos expanded the company’s product portfolio relating to lipid management and gave the company a diverse pipeline relating to diabetes care and asthma.