Abbott Laboratories Announces Unaudited Consolidated Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 31, 2011; Provides Earnings Guidance for the First Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012
January 25, 2012 at 07:46 am EST
Share
Abbott Laboratories announced unaudited consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011. For the quarter, the company reported operating earnings of $2,082 million and earnings before taxes of $1,954 million, net earnings of $1,619 million or $1.02 per diluted share and net earnings excluding special items of $2,295 million $1.45 per diluted share on net sales of $10,377 million against operating earnings of $1,830 million and earnings before taxes of $1,768 million, net earnings of $1,441 million or $0.92 per diluted share and net earnings excluding special items of $2,025 million $1.30 per diluted share on net sales of $9,968 million for the same period of last year.
For the year, the company reported operating earnings of $5,752 million and earnings before taxes of $5,199 million, net earnings of $4,729 million or $3.01 per diluted share and net earnings excluding special items of $7,331 million $4.66 per diluted share on net sales of $38,851 million against operating earnings of $6,088 million and earnings before taxes of $5,713 million, net earnings of $4,626 million or $2.96 per diluted share and net earnings excluding special items of $6,501 million $4.17 per diluted share on net sales of $35,167 million for the same period of last year. The company generated operating cash flow of more than $9 billion in 2011.
The company announced earnings-per-share guidance for the full-year 2012 of $4.95 to $5.05, reflecting another year of strong performance. The company forecasts specified items for the full-year 2012 of approximately $0.35 per share, primarily associated with acquisition integration and cost reduction initiatives. This forecast of specified items excludes one-time costs related to the planned separation of Abbott into two companies, which will be quantified at a later date. Including these specified items, projected earnings per share under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) would be $4.60 to $4.70 for the full-year 2012. Operational sales growth in 2012 is expected to be in the mid-single-digits.
The company forecasting continued improvement in adjusted full year gross margin ratio, which is expected to approach 62% for the full year. The company forecasting continuing strong investments to drive long-term growth in 2012 and after the separation for both companies with R&D of 9.5% to 10% of sales and SG&A of somewhat under 28% of sales. Overall, the company expect to expand operating margin ratio by around 100 basis points in 2012. The company forecasting net interest expense of around $450 million in 2012. The company expects a rate of 14.5% to 15%.
The company provided earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2012. The company operational sales growth in the first quarter is expected to be in the mid-single-digit. The company forecasting an adjusted gross margin ratio approaching 61% in the first quarter, up over the first quarter of 2011.
Abbott Laboratories specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical and medical products. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- diagnostic systems and instruments (39.1%);
- vascular devices (24.7%): endoprosthetic systems, dilation catheters, arterial closures, etc.;
- nutrition products (12.1%): pediatric nutrition products, nutritional supplements, and dietetic products;
- medicine (8.2%): anesthetics, antiviral products, antibiotics, inhibitors, anti-inflammatories, etc.;
- other (15.9%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (38.5%), Germany (5.8%), China (5.6%), India (4.4%), Switzerland (4.1%), Japan (3.8%), Netherlands (2.7%) and others (35.1%).
Abbott Laboratories Announces Unaudited Consolidated Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 31, 2011; Provides Earnings Guidance for the First Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012