(Reuters) -Abbott Laboratories ( ABT ) beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday and raised the lower end of its annual forecast on robust sales of its medical devices, including glucose-monitoring products.

Sales of Abbott's medical devices have been strengthened in recent quarters due to a resurgence in the demand for joint replacements as well as other surgeries delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Industry bellwether and rival Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it continues to expect med-tech related procedure volumes to remain elevated above pre-COVID levels through 2024.

Abbott recorded medical device sales of $4.45 billion, of which its glucose monitor, FreeStyle Libre, generated $1.5 billion. Analysts, on average, had estimated the company's medical device sales at $4.30 billion, according to LSEG data.

FreeStyle Libre, Abbott's biggest product, is used mainly by diabetes patients and the company is targeting annual sales of $10 billion by 2028.

Quarterly revenue in the firm's diagnostics segment, which surged during the pandemic, was $2.21 billion, compared with analysts' estimate of $2.23 billion and down 17.6% due to a steep fall in the sales of COVID tests.

Abbott recorded COVID testing sales of $204 million in the quarter, but did not provide an annual outlook.

Overall, it recorded $9.96 billion in sales for the first quarter ended March 31, compared to analysts' estimate of $9.88 billion.

It now expects a full-year profit of $4.55 to $4.70 per share, raising the lower end from $4.50 per share. Analysts were expecting a profit of $4.60 per share.

On an adjusted basis, the Illinois-based company's quarterly profit of 98 cents per share beat analysts' average estimate of 95 cents per share.