Abbott Declares 356th Consecutive Quarterly Dividend

ABBOTT PARK, Illinois, Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors of Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today declared its 356th consecutive quarterly cash dividend. The quarterly dividend is $0.14 per share, payable Feb. 15, 2013, to shareholders of record on Jan. 15, 2013. The management of AbbVie, Abbott's research-based pharmaceuticals business, intends to recommend a cash dividend, subject to AbbVie board approval, of $0.40 per share, which together with Abbott's dividend will equal a cash dividend of $0.54 per share, an increase of nearly 6 percent over Abbott's quarterly cash dividend declared in September 2012.

Abbott's annualized cash dividend of $0.56 per share, combined with AbbVie's annualized cash dividend of $1.60 per share equals a total annualized cash dividend of $2.16 per share, compared to the annualized cash dividend of Abbott, prior to separation, of $2.04 per share. Future quarterly dividends, including the expected AbbVie dividend in February 2013, are subject to approval by each company's board of directors.

About Abbott
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics.  The company employs approximately 91,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at www.abbott.com.

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A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," to our Annual Report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011 and in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," to our quarterly report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012 and June 30, 2012, and are incorporated by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.