Johnson & Johnson said its first-quarter earnings rose 35%
led by continued sales growth in the health-care company's
pharmaceutical business.
For the year, the company lifted its per-share earnings estimate
range to $5.80 to $5.90, excluding items, from its previous
estimate for per-share profit of $5.75 to $5.85.
New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J, which makes everything from
prescription drugs and medical devices to Band-Aids and Listerine
mouthwash, has been shedding slow-growing products and businesses.
Late last month J&J accepted Carlyle Group LP's offer to
acquire its ortho-clinical diagnostics business for about $4
billion.
The company also has been striving to lower its costs. In
January, J&J outlined plans to cut $1 billion in costs over the
next three years, in part by consolidating some operations and
eliminating jobs.
J&J reported a profit of $4.7 billion, or $1.64 a share, up
from $3.5 billion, or $1.22 a share, a year earlier. Excluding
certain items, such as tax benefits and research charges, adjusted
earnings rose 6.9% to $1.54 a share.
Revenue rose 5.3% in the first quarter to $18.1 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$1.47 and revenue of $18 billion.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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