Johnson & Johnson Tops Forecasts on Lower Profit

by Christopher Freeburn | October 16, 2012 10:55 am

[1]Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ[2]) announced on Tuesday that it earned $2.97 billion during the third quarter[3], down 7% from $3.2 billion in the same period last year. Adjusted EPS came in a $1.25, beating Wall Street forecasts of $1.21, the Associated Press noted.

The consumer products giant saw quarterly revenue increase 6.5% to $17.05 billion. That narrowly topped analysts, who had expected revenue of $17.01 billion.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson rose more than 1% in Tuesday morning trading.

Company officials raised their full-year earnings guidance. They now expect a profit of between $5 and $5.10 a share for the year. That’s up slightly from earlier estimates of between $5 and $5.07 a share.

Company officials noted that earnings had been reduced by one-time charges relating to research. The $19.7 billion acquisition of Synthes[4], a medical equipment maker, in June increased overall revenues by almost 6%. Medical equipment sales surged to $7.07 billion, up 12.5% after the Synthes addition.

Consumer health product sales declined 4.3%, while prescription drug sales rose 7%.

Johnson & Johnson is member of InvestorPlace’ list of Dependable Dividends Stocks[5], which are rock-solid when it comes to preserving capital and making regular dividend payments.

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