Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has registered strong growth in net earnings during the fourth quarter ended December 2012 and its net earnings went up to $2,567 million from $218 million in the corresponding period of last year. Its sales moved up by 8 per cent to $17,558 million from $16,255 million. Its US sales increased by 6.8 per cent, while international sales increased by 8.9 per cent. Sales for the fourth quarter included the impact of the recently completed acquisition of Synthes, Inc. which contributed 5.6 per cent to worldwide operational sales growth.  With significant growth in profits, its EPS worked out to $0.91 as against $0.08 in the last period.

Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO, said, “J&J delivered solid results in 2012 reflecting continued sales momentum in many parts of our business driven by our focus on delivering meaningful innovation in health care to patients and customers. Our results included strong growth of key product, successful new product launches, and the addition of Synthes to our family of companies. In addition, we continued to make important investments building strategic partnerships and in advancing our pipeline, positioning us well for delivering sustainable growth as we enter 2013.”

For the full year ended December 2012, J&J's sales increased by  3.4 per cent to $67.2 billion from $65 billion in the previous year. Its net profit went up by 12.2 per cent to $10.9 billion from $9.7 billion. EPS worked out to $3.86 as against $3.49 in the preceding year.

Worldwide pharmaceutical sales improved by 4 per cent to $25.4 billion from $24.4 billion mainly due to products like Remicade, Velcade, Prezista etc. Further, recently launched products like Zytiga, Invega Sustenna/Xeplion, Incivo, Stelar, Xarelto and Simponi also contributed to sales during 2012. Its pharma sales in US improved marginally by 0.3 per cent to $12.4 billion and that in international market improved by 7.9 per cent to $12.9 billion from $12 billion. The sales were negatively impacted by generic competition for products like Levaquin, Doxil and Caelyx.

The sales of medical devices and diagnostics improved by 6.4 per cent to $27.4 billion from $25.8 billion.  Its sales in US increased by 8.7 per cent and international sales moved up by 4.5 per cent. The sales included the impact of the recently completed acquisition of Synthes, Inc., which contributed 7.9 per cent to worldwide operational sales growth. The sales of consumer healthcare division declined by 2.9 per cent to $14.4 billion.