J&J Braces for Inflation & COVID19 Impact in China

The year is starting out a bit shaky for Johnson & Johnson’s earnings. The New Brunswick, NJ-based company, posted mixed results – and noted a sluggish performance from its devices unit.

Johnson & Johnson saw 4Q22 reported sales decline of 4.4% to $23.7. Billion primarily driven by unfavorable foreign exchange and reduced COVID-19 Vaccine sales vs. prior year.

Results for J&Js Medtech group came in below expectations at $6.78 billion vs. consensus of $6.95 billion with adjusted operational growth of 4.4%. 

Ryan Zimmerman, an analyst with BTIG wrote, “specifically, within medtech, J&J expects 1H23 operational growth lower than 2H23 driven by ongoing procedure recovery, lingering Covid impact in China, and ramping of new product launches.”

The company is just coming off one of the largest medtech deals announced in 2022. Joaquin Duato J&J Chairman and CEO, commented on the $16.6 billion Abiomed acquisition and noted how the heart pump maker could help it move the needle.  

“In medtech, with the acquisition of Abiomed, we now have 12 platforms with over $1 billion in annual sales,” Duato said according to a Seeking Alpha transcript of the earnings call. “We expect to continue to build on 2022’s momentum. We will do this by maximizing the commercial opportunity for recently launched innovations, continuing to advance the Abiomed pipeline and prioritizing investment in higher growth segments of our markets.”

The company is also in the process of splitting off its consumer business from its medical device and pharma units.

“This will be a transformational year for Johnson & Johnson, which brings me to my next priority, completing the successful creation of our new Consumer Health Company, Kenvue,” Duato said according to a Seeking Alpha Transcript of the call. “We remain on track to complete the separation in 2023 as indicated in our initial announcement in November of 2021.”