Johnson & Johnson Profits Rise 18% Over Last Year

Strong growth in drugs and medical products help the pharma beat EPS estimates by a penny.

Author:: Adam Feuerstein
Publish date:: Apr 16, 2002 9:23 AM EDT

Pharmaceutical giant

Johnson & Johnson

said Tuesday that profits grew 18% in the first quarter, led by strong sales of medical devices and continued growth in its drug division.

First-quarter net income totaled $1.8 billion, or 59 cents per share, compared to net income of $1.5 billion, or 50 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts were looking for earnings of 58 cents per share, on average, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.

First-quarter sales totaled $8.7 billion, an 11% rise over first-quarter sales last year.

The company's medical equipment division reported first-quarter sales of $3 billion, an 11% rise over the comparable quarter last year. First-quarter sales in the pharmaceutical division grew 21% to $4.2 billion. Sales of consumer goods totaled $1.6 billion, flat with year-ago numbers.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson closed Monday at $62.16 per share.