J&J Boosts Profit Target

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ Quote) third-quarter sales rose 12.7% year over year, but the health care giant's earnings declined because of a restructuring charge.

Quarterly revenue rose to $14.97 billion from $13.29 billion in the same period a year earlier. Domestic sales were up 5.8%, while international sales increased 21.5%.

J&J earned $2.55 billion, or 88 cents a share, down from $2.76 billion and 94 cents a share last year. The latest quarter included a charge of $528 million associated with the company's cost-cutting program.

Excluding items, J&J would have earned $1.06 a share in the third quarter, 7 cents better than analysts expected. The consensus revenue forecast was $14.84 billion.

For the full year, J&J boosted its profit outlook to $4.10 to $4.13 a share, before items are counted. Wall Street's estimate is $4.06.

Worldwide pharmaceutical sales of $6.1 billion for the third quarter represented an increase over the prior year of 3.7%. Sales for the medical devices and diagnostics unit rose 6% to $5.2 billion, and consumer segment sales of $3.6 billion were up 47.5% from a year earlier.