FILE PHOTO - A screen displays the share price for pharmaceutical maker AbbVie on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - AbbVie Inc ABBV.N said on Friday it was confident that its earnings would grow in the double digits in 2019, in spite of the launch of biosimilar versions of its best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira in the European Union.

Continued momentum of U.S. business and new product launches will allow the drugmaker to grow through the biosimilar impact in 2019, Chief Executive Officer Richard Gonzalez said on a conference call.

AbbVie on Friday reported a 18 percent rise in third quarter profit and raised its 2018 adjusted earnings per share forecast to between $7.90 and $7.92 from a prior range of $7.76 to $7.86.