por admin » Mar Ene 22, 2019 9:51 am
Johnson & Johnson tops fourth-quarter expectations but signals sales to slow this year
PUBLISHED 3 HOURS AGO UPDATED 8 MINS AGO
Angelica LaVito
@angelicalavito
CNBC.COM
Johnson & Johnson reported fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday before the bell.
The health-care giant makes everything from Neutrogena face wash to Acuvue contacts to prescription drugs like Xarelto and Invokana.
A Reuters report claiming J&J knew for decades its talc baby powder contained asbestos has weighed on J&J's stock.
Alex Gorsky, chairman and chief executive officer at Johnson & Johnson.
Christopher Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Alex Gorsky, chairman and chief executive officer at Johnson & Johnson.
Psoriasis treatments and cancer drug sales propelled Johnson & Johnson to another quarterly earnings beat, while sales of its signature baby products and other consumer goods showed slight improvement.
The health-care conglomerate, which makes everything from Neutrogena face wash to Acuvue contacts to prescription drugs like Xarelto and Invokana, reported its fourth-quarter earnings before the markets opened Tuesday.
The company offered its financial forecast for 2019 that was close to what Wall Street is expecting on profit but fell short on sales' estimates.
"As you've heard me say before, while we're pleased with our 2018 performance it's important to remember that we are never satisfied," Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky told analysts Tuesday on a conference call to discuss earnings results.
Shares of J&J fell by about 1 percent Tuesday morning.
Here's what the company reported during the last three months of 2018 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
Earnings per share: $1.97, adjusted, vs. $1.95 expected
Revenue: $20.4 billion vs. $20.2 billion expected
In the fourth quarter, Johnson & Johnson reported net income of $3.04 billion, or $1.12 per share, up from a loss of $10.7 billion, or a loss of $3.99 per share a year earlier due to amortization expenses and special items. Excluding an amortization expense of $1 billion and a net charge for special items of $1.4 billion, J&J earned $1.97 per share, above the $1.95 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 1 percent to $20.4 billion, above expectations of $20.2 billion. The company has now beaten consensus earnings estimates 21 quarters in a row and revenue 14 of the past 21 quarters.
J&J forecast 2019 earnings of between $8.50 and $8.65 per share and revenue in the range of $80.4 billion to $81.2 billion. Analysts previously said they expected earnings $8.60 per share and $82.69 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv.