Johnson and Johnson pharmaceuticals drives first-quarter sales

Johnson & Johnson has announced its results for the first quarter of the 2007 financial year, with the robust performance of its pharmaceutical businesses resulting in strong sales figures for the period.

The firm reported 15.7 per cent increase in sales on the same time last year to $15 billion (7.46 billion pounds), while net earnings reached $2.6 billion and diluted earnings per share equalled $0.88.

During the first quarter, worldwide pharmaceutical sales reached $6.2 billion, equal to a rise of 10.6 per cent on the first quarter of 2006, with strong performance of antiepileptic and migraine drug Topamax, ant-infective Levaquin and a number of antipsychotics.

William C Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, said: “Our solid first-quarter results demonstrate the strength of our broadly-based businesses, especially the strong performance of our pharmaceutical business.”

He hailed the recent acquisitions of Conor Medsystems and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare while citing firm’s strategy of being broadly based as a key contributory factor to its strong financial performance.

In June 2006, Johnson & Johnson announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement for the purchase of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, a transaction valued at $16.6 billion in cash.