Drug demand pushes Johnson & Johnson sales above expectations

Johnson & Johnson has beaten quarterly profit estimates and raised its adjusted sales growth forecast for the year, driven by demand for its treatment for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease and cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica.

The company said it expected adjusted operational sales for the year to rise between 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent compared with its previous forecast of a 2 per cent to 3 per cent rise.

Shares of the healthcare conglomerate rose about 1 per cent to $137.50 before the opening bell on Wall Street.

J&J’s pharmaceuticals unit, which has been the primary growth driver in recent years, was again a bright spot for the company, accounting for a little more than half of its total revenue in the first quarter.

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Sales from the business rose 4.1 per cent to $10.24 billion, above analysts’ average estimate of $9.72 billion.

J&J, the first major drugmaker to report first-quarter results, reported a slight rise in quarterly sales to $20.02 billion, above the average estimate of $19.61 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.

The company’s net profit, however, fell 14.2 percent to $3.75 billion. Excluding items, the company earned $2.10 per share, beating analysts’ estimate of $2.03 per share.

J&J recorded litigation expenses of $423 million in the first quarter. The company did not record litigation expense in the same period a year ago. – Reuters.