(Reuters) -Abbott Laboratories reported a rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday helped by strong demand for its COVID-19 tests and a rebound in medical device sales.
Abbott, which provides COVID-19 testing kits and facilities, benefited from a surge in testing demand as cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in the United States reached record levels in January.
Still, the company left its full-year adjusted earnings forecast unchanged.
COVID-19 test kits brought in revenue of $3.3 billion in the quarter, boosting total sales at its diagnostics business, which grew 31.7% on a reported basis.
A rebound in demand for elective procedures boosted sales of medical devices as coronavirus cases dropped in the latter half of the quarter.
Abbott now forecast $4.5 billion in COVID-19 testing sales this year, which it expects will occur largely in the first half of the year.
The Illinois-based company reiterated that it expects 2022 adjusted profit per share to be at least $4.70.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
