Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has suffered a setback during the first quarter ended March 2013 on account of provision for litigation expenses and integration and transaction costs related to the acquisition of Synthes Inc. Its net earnings declined by 10.6 per cent to $3,497 million from $3,910 million in the corresponding period of last year. Its litigation expenses amounted to $529 million and Synthes integration cost worked out to $258 million.
The company's net sales increased by 8.5 per cent to $17,505 million during the first quarter ended March 2013 from $16,139 million in the similar period of last year. Its US sales increased by 11.2 per cent to $8,025 million and international sales by 6.3 per cent to $9,480 million. Its worldwide pharmaceutical sales increased by 10.4 per cent to $6,768 million from $6,133 million and that of medical devices and diagnostics improved by 10.2 per cent to $7,062 million. The sales of consumer healthcare increased only by 2.2 per cent to $3,675 million.
Primary contributors to operational sales growth were Invega, Sustenna/Xeplion, Stelara, Simponi, Remicade and Prezista. The strong sales results of recently launched products included Zytiga for use in combination with prednisone for the treatment of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer and Incivo for the treatment of genotype-1 chronic hepatitis C virus.
Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO, said, “We delivered solid first quarter results led by the success of many of our recently launched pharmaceutical products and the addition of Synthes to our orthopaedics business. Also of note is the growth in our over-the-counter medicines business as we continue to make progress in returning a reliable supply of high quality products to our customers. Our investments to advance our pipelines and expand our global presence, along with the outstanding efforts of our talented people, will enable us to continue to deliver sustainable growth and meaningful innovations to patients and customers around the world.”
The company confirmed its earnings guidance for full-year 2013 of $5.35 -$5.45 per share. The guidance excludes the impact of special items.