J&J announces Q4 and full year 2011 growth 27-Jan-2012

Johnson & Johnson enjoyed sales of $16.3bn for the fourth quarter of 2011, up 3.9% on the prior year period. Net earnings and diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $0.2bn and $0.08 respectively; excluding special items, net earnings amounted to $3.1bn and diluted earnings per share were $1.13, increases of 9.3% and 9.7% respectively.

The company also announced full year sales of $65bn, representing 5.6% growth. Meanwhile, net earnings (excluding special items) were £13.9bn, up 4.4% on 2010.

However, sales growth in 2011 was largely driven by Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical business, which increased 8.8% to $24.4bn. In contrast, consumer sales totalled $14.9bn, increasing just 2%.

Chairman and ceo William C Weldon described the results as “solid”, praising “the steady momentum of new product approvals across all our businesses”.