J&J 4Q profit jumps on higher sales, lower charges

Higher sales of prescription drugs and medical devices helped Johnson & Johnson post a much bigger fourth-quarter profit than a year ago, when a slew of charges depressed results.

However, consumer health product sales declined again and the company again pushed back its timeline for returning recalled products to stores. In addition, J&J’s 2013 profit forecast, for $5.35 to $5.45 per share, came up short of the average analyst estimate of $5.49.

The New Brunswick, N.J., company said Tuesday that net income was $2.57 billion, or 91 cents per share, up from $218 million, or 8 cents per share, in 2011’s fourth quarter.

Excluding about $800 million in one-time acquisition and litigation charges, earnings in the latest quarter would have been $3.38 billion, or $1.19 per share. That beat the expectation of analysts by 2 cents per share.

The one-time charges included more reserves and other costs for recalls of the company’s defective DePuy hip implants, costs related to the $19.7 billion acquisition of surgical trauma equipment and orthopedic implants maker Synthes Inc. last June and some research and development costs.

The maker of hip implants, contact lenses and consumer health products such as No More Tears shampoo said revenue totaled $17.56 billion, up 8 percent from a year ago but just shy of analysts’ average estimate of $17.69 billion.

In midday trading, J&J shares fell 58 cents to $72.65.

“On the whole, the quarter was no problem,” said WBB Securities analyst Steve Brozak, adding that the company needs to quickly decide what to do with its $12.5 billion in free cash flow. “Are they going to buy, are they going to sell or are they going to stand still?”

CEO Alex Gorsky told analysts during a conference call that the company is exploring alternatives such as the sale or spinoff of its Ortho Clinical Diagnostics business. It makes equipment and supplies for detecting and diagnosing diseases such as HIV, diabetes and high cholesterol and for ensuring the safety of donated blood.

“Johnson & Johnson delivered solid results in 2012, with momentum continuing to build and sales growth accelerating,” Gorsky said. “As we enter 2013, I believe we’re well positioned to drive growth in this increasingly competitive, dynamic market.”

However, J&J’s long-running manufacturing quality problems continued to hurt sales of consumer health products, which were down 3.6 percent in the U.S. and 0.4 percent worldwide at a total of $3.65 billion.

The company has issued about 30 recalls of Tylenol, Motrin and other products since September 2009. Reasons range from nauseating packaging smells to tiny glass and metal shards in liquid medicines.

Costs for upgrades and completely rebuilding one factory, and for lost sales as Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl and other products remained off store shelves, have mounted well past $1 billion. Upgrading its factories and getting all the products back in stores has dragged on far longer than the company initially predicted.

“We will return a consistent supply of our key products over the course of 2013,” Gorsky said.

Two years ago, Gorsky’s predecessor, Bill Weldon, said all the products would be back in stores by the end of 2011.

“They haven’t turned the corner on the fallout from the string of recalls,” said analyst Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “Without the sales added by the Synthes acquisition, overall sales are anemic and medical device and diagnostic sales took a dive.”

The Synthes acquisition drive a a 13.7 percent increase in sales of medical devices and diagnostics, J&J’s largest business, to a total of $7.38 billion.

Prescription medicine sales rose 7.1 percent, to $6.53 billion, despite continuing revenue losses to generic competition for several drugs. Newer medicines posted double-digit sales jumps, including HIV drug Prezista, Invega Sustena for schizophrenia and Simponi and Stelara for immune disorders such as psoriasis.

Gorsky told the analysts the company is poised to take advantage of expected growth of health care sales in developed countries from $5.5 billion in 2012 to $8 billion in 2022.

Brozak said the company’s growth assumptions are too optimistic, given that government health programs, particularly in debt-laden European countries, are trying to trim their health care spending.

“They’re talking about a pie ... that’s only growing in terms of demand, but who’s going to pay for that demand?” he said.