4/15/2014 @ 9:59AM
Maggie McGrath
Johnson & Johnson easily beat the Street with its first quarter earnings results Tuesday morning, reporting a 3.5% lift in revenue and a near-8% jump in profit thanks to strong sales in its prescription drug segment. As a result of the strong earnings figures, shares of Johnson & Johnson are trading higher Tuesday and the company has lifted its full-year outlook.
Johnson & Johnson, the maker of medicines like Tylenol and consumer products like Aveeno and Listerine, reported $18.1 billion in first quarter revenue, beating Street estimates of $17.99 billion and coming in 3.5% above the $17.5 billion reported for the first quarter of 2013. The company’s net income came in at $4.4 billion, a 7.8% increase over the same time last year and resulting in earnings of $1.54 per share, easily beating the analyst consensus of $1.48 in earnings per share.
The company’s results were boosted by its worldwide pharmaceutical sales, which grew 10.8% to $7.5 billion. Though Johnson & Johnson said products like Aveeno and Listerine were positive contributors to that worldwide sales figure, the company said the primary contributor to the sales growth were prescription drugs like Stelara, a drug used to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, HIV drug Prezista and multiple myeloma treatment Velcade. Growth in these areas helped offset the negative impact of patent expirations for Aciphex, a proton pump inhibitor used for gastrointestinal disorders, and Concerta, a drug used to treat ADHD.
“Johnson & Johnson delivered strong first-quarter results driven by successful new product launches and the continued growth of key products,” Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday morning. “Our talented colleagues around the world continue to bring meaningful innovations to patients and customers, addressing significant unmet needs. We also advanced our near-term priorities and long-term growth drivers, positioning us well to deliver sustainable results.”
After releasing lower-than-expected full-year guidance in its fourth quarter 2013 earnings results in January, Johnson & Johnson raised that forecast on Tuesday, saying it now expects full-year earnings to fall somewhere between $5.80 and $5.90 per share, excluding the impact of special items. The company had previously forecast full-year earnings in the $5.75 to $5.85 range.
Following the earnings beat, shares of Johnson & Johnson rose in Tuesday’s pre-market trading session and opened at $98.43 per share, up from Monday’s close of $97.14. Year-to-date, shares of the company are up 6.7%.
Johnson & Johnson Profit Jumps As Prescription Drug Sales Surge And Outlook Increases - Forbes
15 aprile, 2014 alle 22:42
I principali indici azionari statunitensi hanno chiuso anche oggi in rialzo. Il Dow Jones ha guadagnato lo 0,6%, l'S&P 500 lo 0,7% e il Nasdaq Composite lo 0,3%.
La seduta è stata estremamente volatile. Dopo un'apertura in moderato rialzo Wall Street è andata a picco a causa delle notizie arrivate dall'Ucraina. Il governo di Kiev ha iniziato oggi l'operazione "antiterrorismo" a nord della regione di Donetsk dove i filorussi hanno occupato numerosi edifici pubblici. Il premier russo Dmitry Medvedev ha avvertito che il Paese si trova sull’orlo della guerra civile.
Nelle ultime ore di contrattazione c'è stato un forte rimbalzo. Il Nasdaq ha registrato il più significativo recupero intraday da cinque anni. Gli operatori hanno osservato che tali brusche oscillazioni riflettono l'elevato nervosismo che sussiste sul mercato. La situazione in Ucraina sarebbe un sensibile ago della bilancia. Ogni aumento della tensione avrebbe un importante impatto sulle decisioni degli investitori così come un piccolo segnale di distensione.
Coca-Cola (US1912161007) ha guadagnato il 3,7%. Il primo produttore al mondo di bevande analcoliche ha annunciato per il primo trimestre ricavi di $10,58 miliardi. Gli analisti avevano previsto $10,55 miliardi.
Johnson & Johnson (US4781601046) ha guadagnato il 2,1%. Il conglomerato ha annunciato una solida trimestrale ed alzato le stime sul suo utile nel 2014.
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