Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the world's second-largest seller of health-care products, achieved 16.2 billion U.S. dollars in sales for the first quarter of 2011, the company announced Tuesday in a financial report.
The fresh sales figure increased by 3.5 percent as compared to the same period of 2010, said the company.
Domestic sales fell 0.6 percent, while international sales increased 7.3 percent, reflecting operational growth of 4.1 percent and a positive currency impact of 3.2 percent, according to the financial report.
Excluding special items, net earnings for the first quarter this year were 3.7 billion U.S. dollars and diluted earnings per share were 1.35 U.S. dollars, representing increases of 3.6 percent and 4.7 percent respectively, as compared to the same period in 2010.
"Our pharmaceuticals business demonstrated strong growth this quarter led by the performance of recently launched products. We delivered solid earnings while making the investments necessary to advance the robust pipelines across our businesses," said William C. Weldon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of J&J.
Moreover, the company raised its earnings forecast for full-year 2011 to 4.90 - 5.00 U.S. dollars per share, which also excludes the impact of special items, reflecting both currency exchange rate changes and recent developments in the business.
