Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Get Free Report posted stronger-than-expected second quarter earnings Thursday, while boosting its full-year profit outlook thanks in part to robust medical device and pharmaceutical sales.
Johnson & Johnson said adjusted earnings for the three months ending in June were pegged at $2.80 per share, up 8.1% from the same period last year and firmly ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $2.62 per share. Group revenues, Johnson & Johnson said, rose 6.3% to $25.53 billion, a figure that also topped analysts’ estimates of a $24..63 billion tally.
Pharmaceuticals sales were up 3.1% to $13.73 billion while consumer health sales rose 5.4% to $4.01 billion. Medtech sales jumped 12.9% to $7.78 billion. .
The company also lifted its 2022 earnings forecast by around 5 cents per share, to between $10.70 and $10.80 per share, up from its prior forecast of between $10.60 and $10.70 per share, with adjusted operational sales growth of between $99.3 billion and $100.3 billion.
The group also held its quarterly dividend at $1.19 per share
“Our robust performance in the second quarter and first half of 2023 is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our colleagues around the world,” said CEO Joaquin Duato. “We are entering the back half of the year from a position of strength with numerous catalysts, including becoming a two-sector company focused on Pharmaceutical and MedTech innovation.”
Johnson & Johnson shares were marked 1.9% higher in pre-market trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $161.72 each.
Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $8.9 billion in April — more than four times its original forecast — to settle a class-action lawsuit linked to allegations its talc-based products, including its iconic Baby Powder, caused cancer.
Kenvue, the consumer health division spun-off by Johnson & Johnson in May, said its sales increased by 5.4% to $4 billion over the three months ending in June, and sees net sales growth for the full-year of between 4.5% and 5.5%.
Johnson & Johnson said it will split-off Kenvue shares through an exchange offer “as the form of its next step in the separation, subject to market conditions.”
