Johnson & Johnson beats Q1 forecasts but trims guidance
Consumer products, pharmaceutical and medical devices titan Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street estimates with its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, but scaled back forecasts for the full-year on the back of a stronger dollar.
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The US group, which generates around half of its sales outside the States, said it now expects adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $6.04-6.19 for 2015 "reflecting further negative foreign currency movements".
J&J had initially expected to make $6.12-6.27 a share this year, while the consensus estimate was $6.17.
Nevertheless, adjusted EPS came in at $1.56 for the first three months of the year, down 4.3% on last year but ahead of the $1.53 forecast. Net earnings fell 5.9% to $4.4bn.
Group sales were 4.1% lower than the year before at $17.4bn, with 3.1% underlying growth offset by a 7.2% negative FX impact. Domestic sales were up 5.9%, while international sales dropped 12.4%.
"The company delivered strong underlying growth in the first quarter driven by new products and the strength of the core business," said chairman and chief executive Alex Gorsky.
"Of note is the continued robust growth of the pharmaceutical business and the solid performance of our consumer brands."
The stock was more or less flat at $100.56 by 10:38 in New York.