Johnson & Johnson raised its 2021 profit forecast as strong performance across the health-care giant’s main divisions helped drive quarterly results. 

Adjusted earnings for the year will be US$9.77 to US$9.82 a share, J&J said Tuesday in a statement, up from the previous guidance of US$9.60 to US$9.70. Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share were US$2.60, J&J said, beating Wall Street’s average estimate of US$2.36. 

Health-care company results have been improving across the board this year as pandemic restrictions abate and patients return to hospitals and clinics. J&J benefited from gains in its medical-device unit, as well as in its pharma and consumer divisions. 

 

SALES GROWTH

The quarter’s results were helped by strong drug sales that rose about 14 per cent from a year ago to US$13 billion. J&J cited Darzalex for multiple myeloma, the immune treatment Stelara, and psoriasis drug Tremfya as top performers. Overall revenue rose 11 per cent to US$23.3 billion, narrowly missing the average estimate of US$23.7 billion.

J&J’s closely watched medical device unit grew 8 per cent to US$6.6 billion, as elective surgeries continued to come back. The consumer-health unit grew more than 5 per cent to US$3.7 billion, benefiting from a surge in sales of adult Tylenol, children’s Motrin as well as Zyrtec amid cold, flu and allergy season.

The shares rose 1.6 per cent as of 7 a.m. in premarket trading. They gained 1.7 per cent this year through Monday’s close in New York. 

Meanwhile, New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J’s single-shot COVID vaccine produced US$500 million in the quarter, missing the average estimate of US$762 million. Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk said the inoculation is still on track to meet the US$2.5 billion full-year forecast as production picks up. 

Wolk noted that the vaccine is being offered on a not-for-profit basis and isn’t material to its broader portfolio across pharmaceutical, consumer and medical device products. 

“I always have a little bit of a smile when our stock reacts positively or negatively as much as it does when there’s vaccine news,” he said. “The strength and breadth of our business is the story of 2020 and 2021.” 

 

FUTURE BOOST

J&J’s COVID shot has been less widely used than messenger RNA vaccines from Moderna Inc. and the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE partnership, in part because of issues at a manufacturing partner. Now, as pandemic restrictions that dampened its overall drug business abate, J&J is resolving problems with the vaccine. 

On Friday, advisers to U.S. regulators voted unanimously in favor of recommending the booster for people 18 and older who received their initial immunization at least two months earlier. The experts also indicated support for mixing and matching booster shots from different manufacturers, but didn’t consider a recommendation.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration could decide on whether to clear the booster, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will consider which populations should receive it. Bloomberg reported Monday evening that the FDA is poised to clear mixing and matching boosters with different vaccines than the original inoculations people received. 

Wolk said that J&J has produced enough supply to provide the U.S. with boosters for all who ultimately become eligible. Asked if the U.S. government might buy up more doses of the J&J vaccine, Wolk said discussions about such an agreement are ongoing.

“I’m sure they’re assessing what their overall demand is, and probably were waiting on some panel recommendations and FDA approvals before committing any further,” he said. “The collaboration is strong and we’ll just see where that lends itself.”