Soaring demand for Abbott Laboratories' popular at-home COVID-19 tests fueled strong sales growth in the company's most recent quarter.
Illinois-based Abbott on Wednesday reported a 7.2% sales increase in its overall sales in the fourth quarter, a period that coincided with the rise of the fast-spreading omicron variant, yet its quarterly profit fell 8% to about $2 billion.
The "skyrocketing" demand for at-home diagnostics prompted Abbott to ramp up production of its BinaxNOW kits — one of the most popular COVID tests on the market. The company reopened a plant in Illinois that was shuttered last summer when demand waned.
Abbott's chief executive, Robert Ford, told analysts Wednesday the company sold 1 billion COVID tests in 2021. The company has a large presence in Minnesota, but no tests are made here.
In November, the company reported its BinaxNOW product was ranked as the top rapid antigen test in the U.S., based on data from the Nielsen Corp.
For the fourth quarter alone, the company's COVID-related sales accounted for 20% of its revenue of $11.5 billion.
Abbott handily beat the consensus estimate for earnings per share during the fourth quarter, a key metric on Wall Street. The company reported earnings of $1.32 per share, exceeding the analysts' estimate of $1.21 a share.
COVID-19 has hurt financial results for many medical technology companies, but Abbott's product portfolio — including its at-home tests — have fared better.