Abbott Laboratories on Wednesday reported first-quarter profit of $1.23 billion. The Abbott Park, Illinois-based company said it had net income of 70 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 98 cents per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 96 cents per share. Abbott also raised the low end of its full-year earnings forecast by five cents. It now expects earnings in the range of $4.55 to $4.70 per share.
