Abbott 2Q Profit Beats Expectations, Humira Sales Grow

Abbott Laboratories announced that second-quarter earnings narrowly beat estimates, fueled by the continued growth of its drug Humira. The company said net income for the quarter declined to $1.75 billion, or $1.08 per share, from $1.94 billion, or $1.23 per share in the same quarter last year. Excluding certain charges related to the company's forthcoming split, profits jumped 11.2 percent to $1.97 billion, or $1.23 per share. Sales rose 2 percent to $9.81 billion, helped by a 16.5 percent surge in Humira, which accounted for $2.3 billion in sales in the quarter. Analysts on average expected earnings per share of $1.22 billion on $9.84 billion in revenue. The company said it remains on track to separate into two publicly held companies later this year, one of which will retain the Abbott Labs name and sell nutritional products and diagnostic tools. The other company, AbbVie, will sell proprietary pharmaceuticals, including Humira.