Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on October 16 said third-quarter profit fell, hurt by restructuring charges and weak demand for its Procrit anemia drug, but the results handily beat Wall Street expectations. The diversified health-care company said it earned $2.5 billion, or 88 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with $2.76 billion, or 94 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Excluding special items, including the $528 million after-tax restructuring charge, J&J earned $1.06 per share. Analysts on average expected 99 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
In view of the better-than-expected quarterly results, the company slightly raised its full-year profit forecast to between $4.10 and $4.13 per share. Third-quarter sales jumped almost 13 percent to $14.97 billion, about $100 million higher than the Reuters Estimates forecast.