Johnson & Johnson has suffered setback during the second quarter ended June 2011 and its net earnings declined by 19.5 per cent to $ 2,776 million from $ 3,449 million in the corresponding period of last year due to restructuring expenses. Its sales increased by 8.3 per cent to $ 16.6 billion for the second quarter of 2011 from $ 15.3 billion. Domestic sales increased 0.1 per cent, while international sales increased 15.9 per cent, reflecting operational growth of 4.9 per cent and a positive currency impact of 11.0 per cent.

Second-quarter 2011 net earnings included an after-tax charge of $ 549 million representing the previously announced restructuring by Cordis Corporation. Second-quarter 2011 net earnings also included a net after-tax charge of $ 223 million representing the net impact of expenses related to litigation, additional DePuy ASR Hip recall costs, and an after-tax mark-to-market gain associated with the currency option related to the planned acquisition of Synthes, Inc.

Second-quarter 2010 net earnings included an after-tax gain of $ 67 million representing the net impact of litigation matters. Excluding these special items, net earnings for the current quarter were $ 3.5 billion and diluted earnings per share were $ 1.28, representing increases of 4.9 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively, as compared to the same period in 2010.

The company maintained its earnings guidance for full-year 2011 of $ 4.90 - $ 5.00 per share. The company's guidance excludes the impact of special items.

“Our recently launched pharmaceutical products continued to achieve strong growth and contributed to our solid second quarter results. We received several new product approvals across our businesses which will benefit patients around the world and drive future growth,” said William C Weldon, chairman and CEO. “We continue to invest in building leadership positions and capabilities, and our pending acquisition of Synthes demonstrates our ongoing commitment to serve patients while enhancing shareholder value,” said Weldon.

In July, the company completed its acquisition of several over-the-counter cough and cold brands in Russia from J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Worldwide Pharmaceutical sales of $ 6.2 billion for the second quarter represented an increase of 12.2 per cent versus the prior year with operational growth of 7.0 per cent and a positive impact from currency of 5.2 per cent. Domestic sales increased 4.1 per cent; international sales increased 22.6 per cent, which reflected an operational increase of 10.7 per cent and a positive currency impact of 11.9 per cent.

Sales results include the strong performance of recently launched products, including Stelara (ustekinumab), a biologic approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis; Zytiga (abiraterone acetate), an oral, once-daily medication for use in combination with prednisone for the treatment of men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer; and Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate), a once-monthly, long-acting, injectable atypical antipsychotic for the acute and maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

Also during the quarter, the company filed a marketing authorization application with the European Medicines Agency for Dacogen (decitabine) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia.

Worldwide Medical Devices and Diagnostics sales of $ 6.6 billion for the second quarter represented an increase of 7.2 per cent versus the prior year consisting of an operational increase of 1.3 per cent and a positive currency impact of 5.9 per cent. Domestic sales increased 0.1 per cent; international sales increased 13.4 per cent, which reflected an operational increase of 2.2 per cent and a positive currency impact of 11.2 per cent.

For the first half ended June 2011, J&J's net sales increased by 5.8 per cent to $ 32.8 billion from $ 31 billion. However, its net earnings declined sharply by 21.6 per cent to$ 6,252 million from $ 7975 million in the similar period of last year. Its pharmaceutical sales improved by 9.8 per cent to $ 12,292 million from $ 11,191 million. Its pharma sales in US increased by 5 per cent to $ 6,630 million during the quarter under review and that in International market went up by 16.1 per cent to $ 5,662 million.