Abbott's Sales And Earnings Rise In 2nd Qtr And 1st Half

Second-quarter earnings for 1997 at Abbott Laboratories were up 10.9% to$522 million, with earnings per share reaching 68 cents, an increase of 13.3%. Sales for the quarter were $2.9 billion, up 7.5%.

"Each of Abbott's businesses performed well in the second quarter," commented Duane Burnham, chairman and chief executive of the firm. Turnover of pharmaceutical and nutrition products was $1.7 billion, up 9.4%. Worldwide sales of hospital and laboratory products grew 4.9% to $1.2 billion.

In the first six months of the year, group turnover was $5.9 billion, up 9.8%. Net income was just over $1 billion, up 11.1%, and EPS grew 13.2% to $1.37.