Abbott
Shares of Abbott Laboratories fell 22 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $42.18, in Wednesday’s early trading. Reuters

Abbott Laboratories saw its third-quarter revenue rise 5.8 percent, to $5.1 billion, thanks to strong sales of branded pharmaceuticals and nutrition goods, along with a boost in its vision care products. Meanwhile, the drugmaker’s profit fell 44 percent, to $538 million, or 36 cents per share, from $966 million, or 61 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Excluding special items, the company’s adjusted earnings were 62 cents per share, which beat analysts’ expectations of 59 cents to 61 cents per share.

In Wednesday’s early trading, Abbott’s shares fell 22 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $42.18.

The company revised its full-year adjusted earnings from between $2.19 and $2.29 per share to between $2.25 and $2.27 per share. Abbott's worldwide sales from both continuing and discontinued operations increased 5.6 percent, to $5.6 billion.

Abbott’s nutrition sector, which includes products such as the supplemental drink Ensure, saw a 10.1 percent increase in the last quarter, the Abbott Park, Illinois-based health care technology manufacturer announced on Wednesday. More than half of Abbott’s sales are in emerging markets.

Abbott has been making big changes to its business recently. Last year, it created AbbVie Inc., which has recently canceled plans for a $54 billion takeover of Dublin-based pharma company Shire PLC amid stricter American tax rules. In July, it made a $5.3 billion agreement to sell its generic drug business to Mylan Inc., according to Bloomberg. In September, it acquired CFR Pharmaceuticals, which increased its presence in Latin America.

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