Abbott Labs Stung by Foreign Exchange Rate
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) reported second-quarter results this morning that beat the consensus estimate for earnings per share (EPS), but missed slightly on revenues. The drug maker reported adjusted diluted EPS of $1.23, a penny better than the consensus estimate,…
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On the revenue side, Abbott said that excluding the effects of currency exchange rates, the company’s revenues rose by 6.7%. Including exchange rate effects, revenues rose by just 2%. The report is similar to yesterday’s report from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), where currency exchanges also tamped down revenues.
It is probably reasonable to conclude that competitors Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) are likely to suffer from the same currency exchange issue. Between April 1 and June 30, the dollar index rose by about 3.6% and the euro fell by about 4.7% versus the dollar. Converting foreign currencies to the stronger greenback costs these international giants a significant chunk of revenues.
Abbott confirmed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $5.00 to $5.10, in line with the consensus estimate of $5.04.
Shares of Abbott fell slightly in the premarket to $66.30, in a 52-week range of $46.29 to $66.61. The 52-week high was posted yesterday.
Paul Ausick
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
