Johnson & Johnson‘s (NYSE:JNJ) third quarter profits were down by -12%, the company reported today, but revenue topped expectations and the healthcare giant singled out its pharmaceutical business as a driving factor.
“Johnson & Johnson accelerated growth in the third quarter. This is driven by the strong performance of our pharmaceutical business, and augmented by Actelion and other recent acquisitions across the enterprise that will continue to fuel growth,” chairman & CEO Alex Gorsky said in prepared remarks.
Global sales for the pharma unit grew more than 15% in Q3 compared to the same period last year, topping $9 billion – domestic sales were up 15.4% and international sales grew 15.5%.
Included in the company’s global sales growth was the impact of its Actelion purchase, which it closed earlier this year.
Excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, worldwide sales increased by 6.7%, the company reported.
Including finances for all of its business units, New Brunswick, N.J.-based J&J posted profits of $3.76 billion, or $1.37 per share, on sales of $19.65 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, for a bottom-line slide of -11.9% on sales growth of 10.3%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.90, 10¢ ahead of the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $19.28 billion.
JNJ shares were trading at $138.67 apiece in mid-morning activity today, up 1.9%.
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