Less than two years after a headline-grabbing shutdown of a baby formula plant in Michigan, Abbott … [+]
Less than two years after a headline-grabbing shutdown of a baby formula plant in Michigan that fueled a national crisis, Abbott Laboratories has “reclaimed its previous market-leading position,” the medical product maker said Wednesday.
Abbott triggered a national shortage of baby formula when contamination issues at a manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan nearly two years ago forced the company to recall millions of cans of the product. By June of that year, Abbott restarted production for certain brands and gradually began releasing them into the market.
“In 2023, Abbott continued to recapture market share in the U.S. infant formula market,” Abbott said Wednesday in its fourth quarter and annual 2023 earnings report. “The company has now reclaimed its previous market-leading position, as measured on a volume basis.”
Abbott, which reported a 54% increase in net income for the fourth quarter to nearly $1.6 billion, attributed growth to its diversified portfolio of diagnostic tests, medical devices, established pharmaceuticals and nutritional products. Total sales rose 1.5% to $10.2 billion.
“The strength and diversity of the Abbott portfolio drove our success in 2023,” Abbott chief executive officer Robert B. Ford said. “We’re entering 2024 with a lot of positive momentum, and with our highly productive pipeline, we’re well-positioned for growth in 2024 and beyond.”
In pediatric nutrition, a business generating $2 billion in sales a year that includes the popular baby formula brands Similac and Elecare, global sales increased “11.8 percent on a reported basis and 14.5 percent on an organic basis,” Abbott said in its report. “International sales increased 12.3 percent on a reported basis and 17.9 percent on an organic basis, which was led by strong growth in Canada and several countries in Latin America. In the U.S., sales growth of 11.4 percent (to was primarily driven by market share recovery in the infant formula business following a voluntary recall of certain products last year.”
