Second-quarter sales and earnings topped the consensus forecast today for Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), prompting the healthcare giant to tighten its outlook on the rest of the year.
New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J posted overall profit growth of 3.1% to $3.95 billion, or $1.45 per share, on sales growth of 10.6% to $20.83 billion for the three months ended June 30, compared with Q2 2017. Johnson & Johnson’s largest division, pharmaceuticals, drove the lion’s share, growing revenues 19.9% to $10.35 billion.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.10, 3¢ ahead of the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $20.39 billion.
“Our strong second-quarter results reflect double-digit growth in our pharmaceutical business and the accelerating sales momentum in our medical devices business, driven by the continued growth of our market leading products and strategic new launches. We remain focused on investing in innovation and meeting the needs of our customers by delivering innovative products and solutions that position the company to deliver long-term, sustainable growth,” chairman & CEO Alex Gorsky said in prepared remarks. “Our talented J&J colleagues are united in our efforts to address some of the most critical health and consumer needs of people around the world.”
J&J said it now expects to report adjusted EPS of $8.07 to $8.17 per share, compared with $8.00 to $8.20 previously, on sales of $80.5 to $81.3 billion, compared with prior guidance of $81.0 million to $81.8 billion.
International sales, interventional solutions drive 4% gain for medical device segment
Sales for J&J’s second-largest business, medical devices, rose 3.7% to $6.97 billion during the quarter, with international sales setting the pace at 6.0% growth to $3.71 billion. Domestic sales rose 1.1% to $3.27 billion.
The interventional solutions segment, which includes electrophysiology devices, led with 16.4% growth to $667 million. Vision sales were up 11.2% to $1.17 billion, followed by surgical, which grew 5.5% to $2.52 billion and is the division’s largest segment. Diabetes sales reflected J&J’s wind-down of most of that business, sliding -15.7% to $355 million. Sales were also off -1.4% to $2.26 billion for the orthopedics segment, driven by declines in spinal implant sales, the company said.
Although JNJ shares were off -0.6% initially in pre-market trading today, the stock rebounded to $124.99 apiece, up 0.2% as of about 7:15am Eastern.