Diversified health care giant Johnson & Johnson said today profits rose 14 per cent, slightly above analysts' expectations, driven by strong sales of prescription drugs and medical devices.
The company reported earnings of $1.50 billion, or $1.06 per share, compared with $1.31 billion, or 93 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call estimated J&J would earn between $1.03 and $1.05 per share, with a consensus of $1.04.
Revenue rose 6.5 per cent to $7.79 billion, driven by 15 per cent sales growth for schizophrenia drug Risperdal and 28 per cent growth for its anemia treatment, Procrit.
Total sales would have increased 10.1 per cent had it not been for the negative impact of foreign exchange, which decreased the value of US-made goods sold in other markets.
Pharmaceutical sales were $3.3 billion for the quarter, up 9.8 per cent. But the growth in drugs sales was only 7.2 per cent when negative foreign exchange rates were taken into account.
Global sales for the company's medical devices and diagnostics unit were $2.7 billion in the first quarter, a 13.3 per cent increase over last year's first quarter, or 8.8 per cent when including foreign exchange.