• Diluted earnings per share, excluding specified items, were $0.63, reflecting 14.5 percent growth, at the upper end of Abbott's previously announced guidance range of $0.61 to $0.63. Diluted earnings per share under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) were $0.60, up 33.3 percent.
• Worldwide sales in the first quarter increased 13.8 percent to $6.8 billion, including a favorable 5.5 percent effect of exchange rates.
• Worldwide pharmaceutical sales increased 14.3 percent driven by double-digit growth in HUMIRA(R), Niaspan(R) and Kaletra(R) and 9.8 percent growth in TriCor(R). Abbott forecasts global HUMIRA sales of more than $4 billion in 2008.
• Worldwide medical products sales increased 13.7 percent, driven by 14.3 percent growth in worldwide Diabetes Care sales, 22.0 percent growth in international diagnostics sales, and 34.7 percent growth in international Vascular sales.
• Worldwide nutritional products sales were led by 20.8 percent growth in international nutritionals, with continued strong performance in key emerging growth markets.
• In March, Abbott and Takeda announced an agreement to conclude the TAP joint venture, evenly splitting the assets. Abbott will receive full U.S. ownership of Lupron, a complementary product to Abbott's emerging oncology pipeline, as well as future cash payments over the next five years.
• In the quarter, Abbott received five key regulatory approvals: HUMIRA for psoriasis and for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Simcor(R) for cholesterol, and the FreeStyle Freedom Lite(TM) and FreeStyle Navigator(R) glucose monitoring systems.

"Abbott started 2008 with a strong first quarter, following double-digit sales and earnings growth last year," said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "In addition, we received five key new product approvals during the quarter. The continued productivity of our late-stage pipeline, combined with the underlying strength of our broad mix of businesses, gives us a high level of confidence in our future growth outlook."

About Abbott
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 68,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com.

Bookmark with: