Strong quarter from Johnson and Johnson as some operations return to normal
New Delhi: Johnson & Johnson's second-quarter profit soared 73%, thanks to strong sales growth across all of its businesses, particularly its medical device and diagnostics segment, as hospitals and the rest of the health care industry continued recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The health care giant also got a boost from favorable currency exchange rates and hiked its sales and profit forecasts sharply for the year.
The world's biggest maker of health care products on Wednesday reported net income of $6.28 billion, or $2.35 per share, in the quarter, up from $3.63 billion, or $1.36 per share, a year earlier.
Adjusted income came to $6.63 billion, or $2.48 per share. That easily topped Wall Street projections for $2.28 per share, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue totaled a whopping $23.31 billion, up 27.1% from $18.34 billion in 2020's second quarter.
J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said foreign sales jumped 29.5% to $11.39 billion, while U.S. sales rose 24.9% to $11.92 billion.
J&J's medical device and diagnostics division had been a laggard amid a lengthy restructuring and the pandemic leading people to delay scheduled surgeries and other care. It turned in the best performance in the quarter, with revenue jumping 62.7% to $6.98 billion.
The maker of cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica reported that prescription drug sales, long the company's main growth driver, rose 17.2% to $12.6 billion.
Sales of consumer health products like Tylenol and Band-Aids, which have been buoyed during the pandemic by medicine cabinet stocking and an increased focus on wellness, climbed 13.3% to $3.74 billion.
J&J noted that sales had a 4.1% benefit from favorable currency exchange rates.
Johnson & Johnson said it expects adjusted full-year earnings in the range of $9.60 to $9.70 per share, up from its April forecast of $9.42 to $9.57. It expects revenue in the range of $93.8 billion to $94.6 billion, up from $90.6 billion to $91.6 billion.
Company shares edged higher before the opening bell Wednesday.
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