April 17 (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories ( ABT ) beat

Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday and

raised the lower end of its full-year forecast on strong sales

of its medical devices, including glucose-monitoring products.

Sales of the company'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 ( JNJ ) said

on Tuesday it continues to expect medtech 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.

Within medtech, all the company's sub-segments came in above

Street estimates, said Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar. He

added that for the brokerage, the growth in Abbott's

electrophysiology devices to treat irregular heartbeat was a

standout and should allay any fears of a loss in market share.

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.

Shares of the company were down 0.2% in premarket trading.