Smith & Nephew little boosted by rivals' reports of improving hip and knee sales
Johnson & Johnson said sales of hip and knee implants and other surgical devices rose 7.7% in the third quarter
Company
LON:SN.
Smith & Nephew develops advanced medical devices for healthcare professionals around the world
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Johnson & Johnson said sales of hip and knee implants and other surgical devices rose 7.7% in the third quarter
Revenue slipped 3.1% to US$1.29bn for the second quarter
Revenue growth was 4.1% in established markets compared to 1.6% reported
"We finished 2021 with a solid fourth quarter, despite nearly a week less trading than in 2020 and the impact of Omicron," said CEO Roland Diggelmann
Orthopaedics revenue fell 5.9% in the third quarter
The number crunchers at Credit Suisse rate the stock 'outperform'
The bank's analysts said that investors “underestimate the combined power of recently-acquired growth drivers" and that they expected the medical equipment group’s stock to “reverse its material underperformance over the past 12 months”
The firm is benefitting from vaccine rollouts and healthcare systems reopening to non-urgent surgery
The company said the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have an impact on trading performance as hip and knee replacement operations the world over were delayed
Underlying sales fell around 7% in the fourth quarter, compared to 4.2% in the third and 18.7% in the first half
The US was up 1% on an underlying basis but was offset by a 6% decline in other established markets
Third-quarter revenue only dipped 4% compared to a 29% decline in the previous three months
The interim dividend of 14.4 cents per share is the same as was declared a year ago
Hip and knee reconstruction, sports injuries, and ENT businesses were hit hardest by the impact of the pandemic
Procedures are starting to return in some countries, including the US, while China has shown improved trading
The US investment bank also cut its earnings per share estimates for the FTSE 100-listed firm by 15%-22% and reduced its target price to 1,700p from 2,250p
Anne-Francoise Nesmes is currently holding the same role at leisure parks operator Merlin Entertainments
Underlying revenue growth in the quarter to March is expected to drop 8% on 2019
“The near term downside risk…is that either China remains challenged for longer, or COVID-19 spreads more widely,” said analysts at JPMorgan Cazenove
The medical devices maker had guided towards revenue growth of 3.5-4.5%; it achieved growth of 4.4%