That’s a wrap for 2018! Thanks to strong execution and more than 30 significant product advances that made a big impact on people’s lives, Abbott had another outstanding year.

Most notably, we delivered strong double-digit underlying growth and grew more than 7 percent on an organic basis. We also generated strong operating cash flow, paid down more than $8 billion of debt, returned $2 billion to shareholders and announced a 14.3 percent increase in our quarterly common dividend.

And we expect 2019 to be another great year. We issued full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance of $3.15 to $3.25 ($1.80 to $1.90 on a GAAP basis) and continue to launch breakthrough technologies to fuel growth for years to come.

Some of the hottest areas we’re working on are in our diagnostics and devices businesses, including:

• The FreeStyle Libre System, our revolutionary glucose-monitoring system, now has more than 1 million users throughout the world, and we’re building capacity to serve several millions more.
• Alinity, our new suite of diagnostics systems, is a true game-changer with leap-frog level innovation that offers greater flexibility, speed and a smaller footprint for the lab.
• Our Structural Heart business is making a big impact for patients. We have a deep pipeline of innovative products that address a number of forms of heart valve disease, including a recently launched, first-of-its-kind device to close openings in the hearts of premature babies and newborns.

For full details on our 2018 performance, you can read our press release, or take a look at some additional materials below:

Abbott's Chairman and CEO Miles D. White shared his views on full-year performance: