Abbott, a global healthcare company is dedicated to providing a broad range of innovative instrument systems and tests for hospitals, reference labs, physician offices and clinics. The company recently reported that the first quarter sales in its diagnostics business grew 4% year over year. This amazing growth is driven by considerable increase in core laboratory and point-of-care sales.
In general, Abbott has reported overall Q1 revenues of $6.34 billion, which is 30 percent more on a reported basis from Q1 last year. However, diagnostics sales of $1.16 billion are reported, which is up 4 percent from $1.12 billion in Q1 2016.
According to the report, within Diagnostics -
- Core laboratory revenues were $911 million, up 3 percent from $885 million in the prior-year quarter
- Molecular revenues were $112 million, up 4 percent from $108 million
- Point-of-care revenues were $135 million, up 8 percent from $125 million
Abbott's acquisition of Alere was in the news recently. Abbott had agreed to amend the existing terms of an agreement to acquire Alere. Based on the amended terms, the company will pay $51 per share to acquire Alere for a new total price of about $5.3 billion, which is less than the original purchase price of around $5.8 billion proposed in February 2016.
The CEO of Abbott says, "Point-of-care testing remains an attractive growth segment within the in vitro diagnostics market, and the acquisition of Alere will significantly expand our diagnostics presence and leadership in that space."
It was also noted that the firm is seeing continued strong growth in infectious disease testing, which is its core area of focus in the molecular diagnostics market. When it comes to point-of-care, sales growth in the quarter was driven by continued adoption of Abbott's i-STAT handheld system in the US and strong growth internationally. This FDA-approved system delivers lab-accurate testing for Blood Gases, Electrolytes, Chemistries, Coagulation, Hematology, Glucose, and Cardiac Markers (cTnI). It provides reliable test results in just minutes. Overall, the report indicates Abbott's remarkable revenue growth.