By Michael Erman
July 15 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter sales and profit on Wednesday, as strong demand for immunology drug Tremfya and cancer blockbuster Darzalex helped it offset the erosion from older products.
Shares of the company fell 1.5% in premarket trading as sales at J&J’s medical technology unit trailed expectations, hurt by a drop in demand for its Impella heart pumps, acquired through its 2022 buyout of Abiomed.
CFO Joseph Wolk said in an interview that Abiomed revenue took a hit in the quarter following the release of a U.K. study that raised questions about the use of Impella pumps during certain high-risk coronary procedures.
Abiomed sales in the quarter fell 2% from a year earlier, compared with 14% growth in the first quarter.
Wolk said J&J expects the franchise to return to growth, particularly as the company releases more data showing the utility of the pumps.
“We have a big data set coming out probably in the first half of next year that should allay any fears,” Wolk said. “When you have 28 platforms that generate at least $1 billion in revenue on an annual basis, we’re not dependent on one asset.”
Sales at J&J’s medical technology unit came in at $8.93 billion, below analysts’ average estimate of $8.97 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
J&J increased its full-year sales and profit forecast.
The healthcare conglomerate reported second-quarter sales of $25.31 billion, up 6.6% from a year earlier and above analysts’ average estimate of about $25.05 billion. Adjusted earnings stood at $2.90 per share, up 4.7% from a year ago and topping analyst expectations of $2.85.
Despite positive results, expectations were high going into the earnings, said Scotiabank analyst Louise Chen.
The company now expects annual sales of about $101.1 billion at the midpoint, from $100.8 billion previously. The company also raised its adjusted earnings per share forecast to $11.68 at the midpoint, from $11.55 previously.
The company said its pharmaceutical unit generated $16.38 billion in quarterly sales, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $16.1 billion.
Sales of its psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease drug, Tremfya, jumped 72.5% to $2 billion, compared with LSEG estimates of $1.74 billion. Tremfya has become increasingly important as J&J works to replace lost sales from Stelara. Revenue from the drug has fallen sharply since it lost its patent protection.
Second-quarter sales of blood cancer treatment Darzalex stood at $4.2 billion, roughly in line with analyst estimates.
(Reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey and Mariam Sunny and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
