Baxter International Inc. (BAX) issued long-range financial goals on Wednesday that continue to target double-digit earnings growth over the next five years while the company ramps up spending in research and development.

The maker of medical products targeting serious conditions such as hemophilia and kidney failure is holding an all-day investor conference in Chicago Wednesday to review its financial goals and research efforts. In a release ahead of the meeting, Baxter said it expects to boost sales by about 7% to 8% over the next five years, excluding the impact of foreign currency, while boosting earnings per share by about 11% to 13%.

Baxter officials described this as a "base-case" forecast that the company could exceed if certain key "wild card" development efforts that aren't factored into guidance - such as development of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease - bloom.

"Obviously our aspiration is to grow sales at a faster rate than our base-case plan," Robert M. Davis, Baxter's chief financial officer, said during the conference.

Shares of the Deerfield, Ill., company recently traded up 19 cents to $56.14.

The new sales and earnings targets are similar to those announced in early 2007, and Credit Suisse analyst Kristen Stewart said earnings growth at this rate "seems like a reasonable target."

In March 2007, Baxter said that through 2011, it expected annual sales of at least 6% to 8% and per-share earnings growth of at least 11% to 13%.

The company's latest long-range forecasts also call for generating annual cash flow of about $4 billion by 2014 and increasing investment in research and development by at least an 8% to 10% compound annual rate.

"We believe we have a balanced outlook and are well-positioned to achieve our results while making appropriate investments to enhance future growth and delivering value to shareholders," Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., the company's chairman and chief executive, said in the release.

During his presentation, Parkinson said Baxter is less vulnerable than many medical companies to potential changes in U.S. health-care policy. He also noted that the company remains well insulated against economic turmoil by the "medically necessary nature of our products."

Regarding potential acquisitions, Parkinson said Baxter continues to focus on smaller-scale "bolt-on" deals. He said the pace of deal-making is likely to pick up, but that "the notion of a big megadeal" isn't in Baxter's plans.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com