A box containing a 5-minute test for COVID-19 from Abbott Laboratories is pictured during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 30, 2020.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Abbott Laboratories posted a 16% drop in quarterly profit on Thursday partly due to a tax expense and suspended its full-year forecast citing the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The company’s net earnings fell to $564 million, or 31 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $672 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net sales rose to $7.73 billion from $7.54 billion.
Abbott has so far launched three coronavirus tests in the U.S., including an on-site diagnostic kit that can deliver results within minutes and heralded as a game-changer by President Donald Trump.