Johnson & Johnson released its Q4 2017 results on January 23, 2018. The company’s Medical Device division reported 6.5% year-on-year growth. Adjusted for acquisitions, worldwide global growth was 2% over the same quarter in 2016 with near-flat results in the United States.
Cardiovascular, vision care, and advanced surgical products showed solid revenue gains with orthopedic products and diabetes care sales declining. Alex Gorsky, J&J’s CEO stressed 2018 initiatives include robotic surgery systems and digital devices.
Our analysis is that J&J remains committed to revive its substantial but slow-growth Medical Device division via two strategies. The first is to move away from markets where it lacks a strong competitive advantage. Examples include the divestiture of its Cordis cardiovascular products to Cardinal Health and of Codman Neuro to Integra LifeSciences. The second strategy is to bring J&J’s tremendous technical and financial resources to bear in desirable evolving markets where it already has strength such as surgical products. The next two to three years should reveal a realigned J&J product offering.
For the complete Q4 2017 J&J Earnings Presentation please visit:
