J&J: 'Tripledemic' fueled demand for Motrin and Tylenol
Jaimy Lee
Johnson & Johnson's over-the-counter business had sales of $1.57 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.4 billion
As cases of COVID, flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, surged in the fall as part of a "tripledemic" in the U.S., demand for cold medications translated to a good quarter for Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) consumer health business.
J&J's over-the-counter division, which includes the pain reliever Motrin and the allergy medicine Zyrtec, had sales of $1.57 billion in the final three months of 2022, up from $1.37 billion in the same quarter of the previous year. It also beat the FactSet consensus of $1.4 billion. (The company does not break out sales for specific products.)
The company cited Motrin and Tylenol as "major contributors to growth" for the OTC business in the fourth quarter.
"Growth in OTC [was] due to a strong cough, cold and flu season," Jessica Moore, J&J's head of investor relations, told investors Tuesday morning.
The surge in illnesses in the fall, particularly among children, was another frustrating side effect of the pandemic. Social distancing and mask-wearing had kept other viruses at bay for the previous two years, but when people began to resume normal day-to-day activities en masse in 2022, the result was a record number of respiratory illnesses.
As a result, several types of cold medicines were in short supply, worrying families and exhausting Americans who were tired of feeling anxious about viruses. Those medicines included different brands of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, as well as the antibiotic amoxicillin and the antiviral Tamiflu.
The OTC business is part of J&J's broader consumer health business, which is set for a spinoff later this year under the name Kenvue. Once that happens, the division that houses brands like Motrin will get a trendier name: Self Care.
That consumer health business brought in $3.76 billion in sales in the fourth quarter of the year, up from $3.73 billion in the same quarter of 2021. The FactSet consensus was $3.75 billion.
J&J's stock is up 2.3% over the past year, while the S&P 500 has declined 7.1%.
-Jaimy Lee
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 24, 2023 16:59 ET (21:59 GMT)
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