Abbott Labs as seen in Visual Finance
Posted by Robin Helweg-Larsen on Fri, Feb 17, 2012 @ 06:27 AM
Abbott Labs is often thought of as one of the classic Big Pharma companies, and its structure appears to bear this out (note: 2010 Annual Report information):
- Very profitable, at 13% Return On Sales - though the comparatively high Assets reduce its Return On Assets to less than 8%.
- Very high R&D spend: some 11% of Sales Revenue is plowed straight back into developing new product.
- Slow-paying customers, at 75 Days Sales Outstanding
- Debt under control
- And the largest Asset item is Goodwill - reflecting aggressive expansion through strategic acquisitions.
At a glance, a perfectly healthy drug company - however, what you don't see in this view is that Abbott doesn't even consider itself as a "pharmaceutical" company any longer, but as belonging to the wider "medical" field. And this is what a lot of both its R&D and its acquisitions have focused on.
Abbott Labs is in a state of transition, not out of desperation as can sometimes be the case, but driven by a strategic vision; and the results are good.
(Andromeda Training is proud to have been providing business acumen training for Abbott Labs in the US, UK and Ireland, using the Income/Outcome simulation.
The Visual Finance app for the iPad is available at the app store; the basic app is free, and there is an $8 upgrade available.)
Robin Helweg-Larsen, President, Andromeda Training, Inc.