Abbott suffers 4th-qtr $0.37 LPS on Kos buy

US health care major Abbott Laboratories swung to a fourth-quarter 2006 net loss of $475.2 million, or $0.37 per share, from a profit of $976.4 million in the like, year-ago period, due to its $3.7 billion acquisition of the USA's Kos Pharmaceuticals (Marketletter January 1 & 8).

In the reporting quarter, worldwide sales increased 2.8% to $6.22 billion, easily beating a $6.18 billion consensus estimate from a Thomson Financial analyst poll. US pharmaceutical revenues rose 9.9% in the quarter, adjusting both periods for the Boehringer Ingelheim accord amendment, driven by continued success of Humira (adalimumab), which achieved full-year worldwide income of more than $2.0 billion. Fourth-quarter sales of the blockbuster arthritis drug jumped nearly 41% to $620.0 million.

During the period, Abbott's medical products revenues increased 22.7%, including a $389.0 million contribution from Abbott Vascular and double-digit growth in International Nutritionals and Abbott Molecular. The Illinois-headquartered firm said that income from its diagnostic division rose 6.4% to $1.05 billion.