By Tess Stynes
AbbVie Inc. said its first-quarter earnings rose 4.3% as the
biopharmaceutical company posted broad sales growth.
Shares rose 1.5% to $65.50 in recent premarket trading as
per-share earnings, excluding items, beat expectations and AbbVie
raised its full-year per-share earnings estimate to $4.10 to $4.30,
from its previous estimate for $4.05 to $4.25.
AbbVie last month agreed to acquire cancer biotech company
Pharmacyclics Inc. in a $21 billion deal that returned AbbVie to
deal-making after backing away from a big tax-lowering takeover
last year.
The North Chicago, Ill., drug company had reached a $54 billion
agreement to buy Irish drug company Shire PLC last year before
abruptly walking away after the Obama administration took steps to
deter such tax-lowering deals.
Overall, AbbVie reported a profit of $1.02 billion, or 63 cents
a share, up from $980 million, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding separation-related costs and other items, per-share
earnings rose to 94 cents from 71 cents. The company expected
per-share earnings of 82 cents to 84 cents.
Revenue increased 10% to $5.04 billion, but excluding currency
effects rose 18%.
Global Humira sales rose 18% and climbed 26% excluding currency
impacts.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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