ABBOTT PARK, Ill., April 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

• First-quarter sales of $10.5 billion increased 35.3 percent on a reported basis and 32.9 percent on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange.
• First-quarter GAAP diluted EPS was $1.00 and adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes specified items, was $1.32, reflecting 103.1 percent growth versus the prior year.¹
• Abbott projects full-year 2021 diluted EPS from continuing operations on a GAAP basis of at least $3.74. Projected full-year adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations of at least $5.00 remains unchanged and reflects growth of more than 35 percent versus the prior year.²
• Global COVID-19 testing-related sales were $2.2 billion in the first quarter, led by combined sales of $1.8 billion from Abbott's BinaxNOW^™, Panbio^™ and ID NOW^™ rapid testing platforms.
• First-quarter sales increased 7.6 percent on a reported basis and 5.7 percent on an organic basis, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales.
• In January, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded reimbursement coverage eligibility for Abbott's revolutionary MitraClip^™ device, which significantly increases the number of people who can benefit from this market-leading, minimally invasive heart device.
• In March, Abbott announced the U.S. launch of NeuroSphere^™ Virtual Clinic, a first-of-its-kind technology that allows patients to communicate with physicians, ensure proper settings and functionality, and receive new treatment settings remotely as needed.
• In April, Abbott announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Self Test for individuals with or without symptoms and without the need of a prescription.

"We're off to a very strong start to the year, with all four of our major businesses achieving strong growth," said Robert B. Ford, president and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We're particularly pleased with the growing momentum of several recently launched products and continue to forecast more than 35 percent EPS growth for the year."

FIRST-QUARTER BUSINESS OVERVIEW
Note: Management believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis is an appropriate way for investors to best understand the underlying performance of the business. Organic sales growth excludes the impact of foreign exchange.

Following are sales by business segment and commentary for the first quarter 2021:

Total Company
($ in millions)

First-quarter 2021 worldwide sales of $10.5 billion increased 35.3 percent on a reported basis and 32.9 percent on an organic basis.

Nutrition
($ in millions)

Worldwide Nutrition sales increased 6.9 percent on a reported basis and 6.4 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter. Strong performance of Ensure^®, Abbott's market-leading complete and balanced nutrition brand, and Glucerna^®, Abbott's market-leading diabetes nutrition brand, led to global Adult Nutrition sales growth of 18.9 percent on a reported basis and 18.3 percent on an organic basis. In Pediatric Nutrition, sales growth was negatively impacted by a difficult comparison versus the first quarter of 2020 when consumers increased purchases in advance of stay-at-home directives as a result of COVID-19.

Diagnostics
($ in millions)

Worldwide Diagnostics sales increased 119.8 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter and increased 114.8 percent on an organic basis. Strong growth in the quarter was driven by demand for Abbott's portfolio of COVID-19 diagnostics tests across its rapid and lab-based platforms. Global COVID-19 testing-related sales were $2.2 billion in the first quarter, led by combined sales of $1.8 billion from Abbott's BinaxNOW, Panbio and ID NOW rapid testing platforms.

Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales increased 10.7 percent and Molecular Diagnostics sales increased 31.5 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter.³

Established Pharmaceuticals
($ in millions)

Established Pharmaceuticals sales increased 2.5 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter and increased 6.2 percent on an organic basis.

Key Emerging Markets include India, Brazil, Russia and China along with several additional emerging countries that represent the most attractive long-term growth opportunities for Abbott's branded generics product portfolio. Sales in these geographies increased 1.0 percent on a reported basis in the quarter and increased 6.7 percent on an organic basis. Organic sales growth was led by strong growth across several geographies, including China, India and Brazil. 

Other sales increased 7.8 percent on a reported basis in the quarter and increased 4.2 percent on an organic basis.

Medical Devices
($ in millions) 

Worldwide Medical Devices sales increased 13.1 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter and increased 8.8 percent on an organic basis. Strong growth in the quarter was driven by continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In Diabetes Care, sales of FreeStyle^® Libre and Libre Sense were $829 million in the quarter. FreeStyle Libre now has more than 3 million users worldwide. 

ABBOTT'S EARNINGS-PER-SHARE GUIDANCE
Abbott projects 2021 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of at least $3.74. Abbott forecasts specified items for the full-year 2021 of $1.26 primarily related to intangible amortization, expenses associated with acquisitions, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and other net expenses. Excluding specified items, projected adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations would be at least $5.00 for full-year 2021.

ABBOTT DECLARES 389^TH CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
On Feb. 19, 2021, the board of directors of Abbott declared the company's quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share. Abbott's cash dividend is payable May 17, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 15, 2021.

Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 49 consecutive years and is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.

About Abbott:
Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 109,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

Abbott will live webcast its first-quarter earnings conference call through its Investor Relations website at www.abbottinvestor.com at 8:30 a.m. Central time today. An archived edition of the webcast will be available later that day.

— Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 —
A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, and are incorporated herein by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law. 

¹ First-quarter 2021 diluted EPS from continuing operations on a GAAP basis reflects 233.3 percent growth.
² Full-year 2021 guidance for diluted EPS from continuing operations on a GAAP basis reflects growth of at least 50 percent versus the prior year. 
³ Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, Core Laboratory Diagnostics sales increased 14.1 percent and Molecular Diagnostics sales increased 33.9 percent on a reported basis in the first quarter.

A reconciliation of the first-quarter tax rates for continuing operations for 2021 and 2020 is shown below:

SOURCE Abbott