UPDATE: AbbVie Q4 Earnings Beat Views

reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The North Chicago, Illinois-based company posted a quarterly net loss of $810 million, or $0.51 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.128 billion, or $0.70 per share. Excluding special items, the company earned $0.89 per share. Its sales climbed to $5.42 billion from $5.11 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.86 per share on revenue of $5.35 billion. Global HUMIRA sales rose 10.6% in the quarter. The adjusted gross margin ratio rose 410 basis points to 81.2%. The company affirmed its earnings forecast for the full year. "AbbVie delivered exceptional performance in 2014 with sales and earnings well above our original projections for the year," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and chief executive officer, AbbVie. "We returned to growth in 2014, a year ahead of schedule, and we expect to continue building on that momentum in 2015 with another year of strong performance.” AbbVie shares fell 0.82% to $62.60 in pre-market trading.