Abbott Laboratories 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

ABBOTT 2014 ANNUAL REPORT
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LEADING
Abbott intends to lead — both
scientifically and commercially — in
the markets in which we compete. 2014
underscored that leadership across our
businesses. For example:
• In Diabetes Care we launched our
game-changing new glucose-monitoring
technology, Freestyle Libre, in Europe.
This revolutionary, first-of-its-kind
product solves our customers’ biggest
problem in this therapeutic area: having
to stick their fingers repeatedly to draw
blood for testing. Libre allows the user
to read the data wirelessly by simply
passing an electronic reader over a
disposable sensor worn on the body.
• Our Nutrition business has averaged
more than 70 new-product launches
annually over the past several years. This
includes innovations customized for the
markets we serve, such as Eleva, a new
formula designed to promote absorption
of key eye and brain nutrients for infants
in China. And we brought our world-
leading adult nutrition business to China
with the launch there of Ensure.
• In Diagnostics, our Iridica molecular-
testing platform — another revolutionary
new technology — has been approved in
Europe to more quickly diagnose serious
infections, such as sepsis. At the same
time, we’re also updating our full range
of existing diagnostic platforms — both
systems and tests.
DURABLE
These strengths add up to the
fundamental advantage that we oer
investors: Durability. Abbott is built
strong and built to last; that’s how
we’ve succeeded in delivering superior
innovation, productivity, and growth
with such remarkable consistency
and reliability.
We build and manage our company to
navigate environmental volatility and
keep providing the performance, the
return, and the dependability that you
look to us for.
PERFORMANCE
For the full-year 2014, we achieved
sales growth of 5.5 percent, excluding
the unfavorable impact from foreign
exchange. Our operational sales growth
rates, again excluding the impact of
exchange, improved sequentially over
the course of the year, as expected, and
operational sales in emerging markets,
including the impact of 2014 acquisitions,
increased 12.5 percent. At the same time,
we expanded our operating margin
and achieved year-over-year strong,
double-digit operating earnings growth.
In addition to this strong performance,
we raised our quarterly dividend by 57
percent versus 2013 and by more than
9 percent in December 2014.
LIFE. TO THE FULLEST.
The highlights I’ve discussed above
exemplify well-established ways in
which Abbott has succeeded for many
years. In 2014 we also took a strong
step in a new direction for us, adding a
major new dimension to our competitive
capability.
With half our sales today direct to
consumers and half in emerging markets
where we’re often establishing our
presence, it’s more important than
ever in Abbott’s history that we have
a powerful, highly-recognized global
identity to help us connect more strongly
and directly with the people who use our
products. To do so, last year we launched
our new corporate brand identity: Life.
To the Fullest.
Life. To the Fullest. symbolizes our
belief that health is the foundation
for everything we can achieve in life.
It’s the great enabler — the thing that
makes all else possible. And it expresses
our commitment to helping people get
as much out of their lives as possible
through better health.
Through actions like those we took last
year, this is exactly what we’re doing.
Today’s Abbott is helping more people in
more ways than ever before. We intend
to make Life. To the Fullest. the most
recognized brand in our business, and
make Abbott synonymous with not just
healthcare, but with health itself and all
that it means for the people we serve.
LETTER TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
Miles D. White
Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Ocer
March 2, 2015
FOCUS ON FASTER
GROWTH MARKETS
12.5%
Operational sales
growth in emerging
markets