J&J 3rd Qtr Earnings Rise But Sales Hit By Strong $

Major US health care group Johnson & Johnson has reported that theimpact of the stronger dollar relative to foreign currencies led to just a slight increase in third quarter sales in 1997 of 3.4% to $5.59 billion, compared with the same period last year, although earnings rose to $855 million, up 14%. Earnings per share for the third quarter jumped 14.3% to $0.64.

Despite the negative currency effect, the group's pharmaceutical sales continued to show strong growth, increasing by 5.6% to $1.9 billion. Domestic turnover grew 14.9% to $993 million, while international sales, which posted gains in local currency, decreased by 2.9% to $925 million.

Once again, growth was driven by the antipsychotic Risperdal (risperidone), Procrit (erythropoietin) for the treatment of anemia, Duragesic (fentanyl), a transdermal patch for chronic pain and Propulsid (cisapride), a gastrointestinal product. During the quarter, J&J also announced an agreement with NeoRx for its oncology product Avicidin.