Johnson & Johnson Sales Rise 8.3 Pct Amid Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical Growth

Johnson & Johnson Sales Rise 8.3 Pct Amid Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical Growth

Johnson & Johnson reported on Tuesday (Jan. 26) as part of its financial results that reported sales grew by 8.3 percent from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020, as consumer health and pharmaceutical sales rose while medical devices worldwide operational sales fell amid the pandemic.

The company reported that consumer health worldwide operational sales grew 3.1 percent outside of the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, powered by U.S. growth in over-the-counter (OTC) items such as Ogx, Listerine, Zyrtec, Pepcid and Tylenol. It reported that pharmaceutical worldwide operational sales grew by 8.4 percent outside of the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, fueled by a number of products such as Stelara.

However, Johnson & Johnson reported that medical devices worldwide operational sales fell by 10.5 percent outside of the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures. Management said in an earnings announcement that the drop was mainly fueled by the negative effect of the pandemic and “the associated deferral of medical procedures to our Surgery, Orthopaedics, and Vision businesses.”

Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky said in the announcement that the company keeps progressing with its COVID-19 vaccine candidate and that it looks forward to providing details from its Phase 3 study in the near future.

“We’re going to have much more information in the coming days. We think it’s very important to follow the data, to follow the science,” Gorsky said on a call with analysts. “We want to ensure that we’ve got a very robust program, not only geographically, but also by ethnicity, gender, as well as a number of other different parameters, all as part of an effort to give us the best possible understanding of the efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine.”

All in, Johnson & Johnson reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.86 on sales of $22.5 billion. The results exceeded analysts’ expectations of $1.82 earnings per share on sales of $21.67 billion.