Abbott Laboratories reported a sharply lower third-quarter profit early Wednesday, due largely to hefty costs associated with its acquisition of Solvay SA’s pharmaceutical unit as well as the market withdrawal of its diet drug Meridia.
Shares of Abbott were down 1% in afternoon trading.
For the third quarter, Abbott (ABT 52.42, -0.45, -0.85%) posted net income of $891 million, or 57 cents a share, compared with $1.48 billion or 95 cents a share for the same quarter in 2009. Excluding various items, the company would have reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 a share versus 92 cents a share. This year’s quarter included a charge of 33 cents a share for Abbott’s acquisition of the Solvay unit, and a charge of 10 cents a share related to the discontinuation of Meridia. The 2010 quarter also contained a charge of 5 cents a share for the recent recall of its baby formula Similac, and the market withdrawal of Meridia. Sales for the quarter rose 12% to $8.68 billion. Earlier this year, Abbott acquired the Solvay unit for roughly $6 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated Abbott would post earnings of $1.04 a share, on revenue of $8.95 billion.
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