Citigroup 3Q profit rises

NEW YORK (AP) — Citigroup Inc. said Tuesday that its third-quarter profit rose 6% on gains from its investment banking business and lower taxes.

The New York-based bank said it made key gains from its institutional clients. Trading revenue rose 6% while investment banking revenue rose 4%. That helped drive revenue during the quarter as its consumer banking unit remained flat in comparison with last year, when it sold an asset management business in Mexico.

The bank earned $4.91 billion, or $2.07 per share, as revenue edged 1% higher to $18.57 billion. Excluding a tax benefit, the company earned $1.97 per share. Those results topped Wall Street forecasts for profit of $1.95 per share and revenue of $18.54 billion.

In morning trading, Citi shares slipped $1.14 to $69.10.

Johnson & Johnson profit up

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Johnson & Johnson’s third-quarter profit jumped 23%, beating Wall Street forecasts, thanks to higher sales of its key medicines for cancer and immune disorders and an acquisition-related charge a year earlier.

The world’s biggest maker of health care products also raised its financial forecast for the year, and its shares jumped more than 2% in premarket action.

The strong quarter came as the Band-Aid maker is fighting a deluge of lawsuits over alleged harm from its baby powder, opioid painkillers and schizophrenia drug Risperdal.

Several analysts have written recently that J&J, with about $82 billion in annual revenue, can withstand all the lawsuits and that its shares, hurt by news of big verdicts against J&J, are now a bargain.

J&J reported net income of $4.83 billion, or $1.81 per share. That was up from $3.93 billion, or $1.44 per share, in 2018’s third quarter, when the drugmaker took a $1.13 billion charge related to research programs acquired with its purchase of Alios BioPharma.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $2.12 per share, easily topping analysts’ projections for $2, according to a survey of analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

Revenue of $20.73 billion, up 2% from $20.35 billion a year ago, also beat forecasts.

J&J’s prescription drugs business boosted sales 5% to $10.88 billion, led by cancer drugs Darzalex and Imbruvica and by Simponi, Stelara and Tremfya, which treat immune system disorders such as psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease.