Johnson & Johnson Reports Strong First-Quarter 2021 Results with 7.9% Year-Over-Year Sales Growth

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On April 20, Johnson & Johnson released its first-quarter 2021 earnings report, with sales reaching $22.3 billion, a robust 7.9% year-over-year increase——

U.S. market sales reached $11.111 billion, a 3.9% increase;

International market sales reached $11.21 billion, an increase of 12.2%.

Excluding the net impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and foreign exchange translation, operational sales grew 3.9% globally, with U.S. sales increasing 8.2% and international sales rising 6.0%. Diluted earnings per share amounted to $2.32, representing a 6.9% increase year over year; adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.59, reflecting a 12.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

By business segment, Consumer Health sales amounted to $3.543 billion, Pharmaceutical sales to $12.199 billion, and MedTech sales to $6.579 billion. Excluding the net impact of acquisitions and divestitures, adjusted operational results changed by -2.3%, +7.4%, and +8.8% year over year, respectively.

In its first-quarter report, Johnson & Johnson raised its full-year 2021 adjusted operational sales growth guidance to 9.3% and adjusted its mid-term operational earnings per share (EPS) growth to 16.8%.

In the pharmaceutical business, segmented by disease area, Immunology sales amounted to $3.914 billion (up 5.5%), Oncology sales reached $3.57 billion (up 14.6%), Neuroscience sales totaled $1.721 billion (up 1.6%), Infectious Diseases sales were $1.007 billion (up 7.1%), and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension sales stood at $861 million (up 13.7%), while Cardiovascular & Metabolic & Other sales declined 4.1% to $1.127 billion.

Within the immunology portfolio, several drugs demonstrated strong performance, including Stelara (up 9.4%) and Tremfya (up 46.3%), while Remicade declined by 21.7% and Simponi/Simponi Aria decreased by 5.9%. Furthermore, the oncology portfolio also saw robust performance from multiple drugs, including Darzalex (up 49.2%) and Erleada (up 44.0%), with Imbruvica posting a slight increase (up 2.8%). Notably, however, Zytiga experienced a significant decline of 64.2%.

In the pulmonary arterial hypertension business, Opsumit and Uptravi demonstrated strong performance, with growth of 18.5% and 21.9%, respectively. In the cardiovascular, metabolic, and other businesses, Xarelto grew by 11.7%. In the neuroscience business, sales of Invega Sustenna/Xeplion/Invega Trinza/Trevicta increased by 9.4%. In the infectious diseases franchise, Edurant/rilpivirine grew by 8.6%, and COVID-19 vaccine sales amounted to $100 million.

In the report, Johnson & Johnson also reviewed its pipeline and business updates for the first quarter of 2021:

——Regulatory Approvals: Ponvory received FDA approval for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; the single-dose COVID-19 vaccine received conditional marketing authorization from the European Union, was included in the World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing, and was granted Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. FDA; Spravato received EU approval for the rapid reduction of depressive symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder experiencing a psychiatric emergency; the TECNIS EYHANCE and TECNIS EYHANCE TORIC II IOLs monofocal intraocular lenses received U.S. FDA approval for the treatment of cataracts.

— Regulatory Submission: ViiV Healthcare submitted a supplemental application to the U.S. FDA to expand the use of Cabenuva as a bi-monthly HIV treatment regimen.

— Other: Update on the Phase 3 ACIS study evaluating Erleada in combination with Zytiga and prednisone for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC); Purchase agreement reached with the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) for single-dose COVID-19 vaccines; Positive opinion from the EU CHMP for Ponvory in the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis; CAR-T cell therapy cilta-cel accepted for accelerated assessment in Europe for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Source: Johnson & Johnson Reports 2021 First-Quarter Results