Johnson & Johnson reported first-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates amid tepid growth in its pharmaceutical and consumer product sales.
The company, which is on track to close its $30-billion acquisition of Actelion in the current quarter, on Tuesday posted net earnings of $4.42 billion, or $1.61 per share, compared with $4.46 billion, or $1.59 per share, in the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings came in at $1.83 per share, beating Wall Street expectations by 6 cents. But overall sales of $17.77 billion in the quarter fell short of analysts’ average estimate of $18.04 billion.
“Johnson & Johnson’s first-quarter results are in line with our expectations and we are confident we will achieve the full-year financial guidance we established at the beginning of the year,” CEO Alex Gorsky said in a news release.
Including the estimated impact of the Actelion transaction, J&J increased its sales guidance for the full-year 2017 to $75.4 billion to $76.1 billion and its adjusted earnings guidance for full-year 2017 to $7.00 to $7.15 per share.
Excluding Actelion, it maintained its prior forecast for sales of $74.1 billion to $74.8 billion and adjusted earnings of $6.93 to $7.08 per share.
“The pending acquisition of Actelion demonstrates our ongoing commitment to bringing innovation to patients with significant unmet needs, and provides a unique opportunity for us to expand our portfolio with leading, differentiated in-market medicines and promising late-stage products,” Gorsky said.
But the company’s shares fell 3.6% on Tuesday to $121.11 — the biggest one-day percentage decline in more than eight years.
“The expected benefit from the Actelion acquisition this year came in lower than our estimates,” Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans told Reuters. “Additionally, the company’s total growth came in lower than we expected, which is disappointing.”
For the first quarter, pharmaceutical sales rose only 0.8% to $8.25 billion as competition and pricing pressure the diabetes drug Invokana and the Xarelto blood thinner. Consumer product sales grew 1% to $3.23 billion amid a slowdown at retailers, inventory destocking and economic issues in Latin America.
