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American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Tuesday confirmed its forecasts for the current fiscal year after experiencing a fourth quarter of 2023 in line with market expectations.
The group therefore continues to expect organic sales growth of 5 to 6 percent for 2024, which would correspond to a range of 88.2 to 89 billion US dollars, according to a press release.
Net income per share, excluding items – a benchmark for markets – is expected to be between $10.55 and $10.75 for the year, up 6.4% to 8.4%.
“The results for fiscal year 2023 reflect the dynamism and competitiveness of our activities as well as our tireless commitment to doing what is necessary for patients,” Joaquin Duato, head of J&J, is quoted as saying in the press release.
“We entered 2024 in a strong position and I am confident we can lead the next wave of healthcare innovation,” he continued.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the group reported a 7.3% increase in revenue to $21.39 billion, while net profit rose 28% to $4.13 billion.
On a per-share basis and excluding exceptional items, the latter amounted to $2.29, slightly exceeding the consensus of analysts who had expected $2.28.
For the year as a whole, sales rose by 6.5 percent to 85.16 billion dollars (74 billion francs) and net profit fell by 18.6 percent to 13.33 billion.
Notably, J&J reported a 12.4% increase in global organic sales in the MedTech segment, benefiting in part from its acquisition of US medical device supplier Abiomed, which generated 4.7% of the business.
When it reported third-quarter results in October, the company said it made a one-time gain of about $21 billion in the period as it spun off its consumer health division.
Johnson & Johnson completed the separation of that business, called Kenvue, which includes consumer hygiene, beauty and over-the-counter medicine products, in July.
/ATS
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