FILE PHOTO: Vials labelled “COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine” and sryinge are seen in front of displayed Johnson&Johnson logo in this illustration taken, February 9, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
October 19, 2021
(Reuters) -Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday raised its annual adjusted profit forecast, but kept the sales outlook for its COVID-19 vaccine at $2.5 billion for this year.
Shares rose 1.4% as the drugmaker’s third-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations and it lifted 2021 forecast for adjusted earnings per share to between $9.77 and $9.82, from its prior estimates of $9.60 to $9.70.
The drugmaker had earlier this year faced major production hurdles with the production of its COVID-19 vaccine due to quality problems at a Baltimore manufacturing facility, resulting in delays as well as wastage of millions of doses.
It also led the company to tap down its annual production target to 500 million to 600 million doses compared to the initial goal of making a billion shots.
Meanwhile, a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on booster doses of the vaccine is pending.
Sales of its cancer and immune disease drugs helped the healthcare conglomerate report a 13.8% rise in sales to roughly $13 billion at its large pharmaceuticals unit. The COVID-19 vaccine only contributes a fraction to the sales.
Sales in its medical devices unit rose 8% to $6.64 billion in the third quarter, as a restart of hip and knee surgeries and other non-urgent procedures helped soften the blow from weak demand for medical devices used in sports and spine procedures.
Excluding items, J&J earned $2.60 per share, beating expectations of $2.35 per share. However, its sales of $2.33 billion missed estimates of $2.37 billion.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Source: One America News Network
