Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday boosted its full-year adjusted profit forecast, as multi-billion dollar sales of its cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica helped it beat estimates for third-quarter profit.
Shares of the company rose 2% to $133.48 in premarket trading.
J&J did not report litigation expenses for the third quarter and its legal expenses over the nine-month period remained at $832 million, as was reported at the end of the second quarter.
The company is facing more than 13,000 lawsuits tied to antipsychotic drug Risperdal as well as a range of lawsuits involving its baby powder, opioids, medical devices and other products.
J&J on Tuesday said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings per share in the range $8.62 to $8.67, from its prior forecast of $8.53 to $8.63. Analysts were expecting $8.60 per share.
Net earnings rose to $4.83 billion, or $1.81 per share, in the quarter, from $3.93 billion, or $1.44 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $2.12 per share, beating analysts' expectations of $2.01 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Total sales rose 1.9% to $20.73 billion, above the average analysts' estimate of $20.07 billion.
(Reporting by Saumya Sibi Joseph and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) ((saumya.joseph@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780, outside U.S. +91 80 6749 2290; Twitter: @SaumyaSibi))
