Johnson & Johnson reported Tuesday that second-quarter sales of prescription drugs dropped 13.3 percent to $5.5 billion compared to the prior-year period, due to generic competition and the negative impact of currency exchange. The result was better than analysts projected, and net income, which decreased 3.6 percent to $3.2 billion versus the same time last year, also exceeded consensus estimates.

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Analyst Jan Wald of Noble Financial Group remarked that “the pharmaceutical business looked especially strong to us,” noting that Johnson & Johnson’s revenue for Remicade rose to $1.1 billion, up 24.4 percent from the year-ago period. Sales for Risperdal Consta were up 1.5 percent to $348 million, while the company recorded a 13.6-percent rise in Concerta sales to $317 million.

Combined sales for Procrit/Eprex were down 11.5 percent to $577 million on continued safety concerns over these and other anaemia drugs, but the decline was less than initially feared, Wald remarked. Meanwhile, generic competition eroded sales of Risperdal and Topamax, which fell 66 percent and 73 percent, respectively, to $239 million and $182 million, compared with the corresponding period in 2008.

Overall revenue for the three months ending June 30 was down 7.4 percent to $15.2 billion, but came in $190 million higher than some analysts had speculated. Looking ahead, Johnson & Johnson reiterated its per-share earnings outlook of $4.45 to $4.55 for the year, excluding one-time items.

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Commenting on the news, Joel Levington of Hyperion Brookfield Asset Management, said Johnson & Johnson “did an excellent job of managing its costs to help offset declines in mature pharma products…The company’s balance sheet strength will provide it opportunities to continue making select acquisitions.”

Source: FirstWord

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