The diversified company – Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), a developer and manufacturer of health care products, reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly sales, helped by strong results of its pharmaceutical division.
J&J, the first major producer of drugs in the United States that presented the quarterly reports, raised the sales forecast for 2016, expecting now that the figure will be in the range of $ 71.5 - $ 72.2 billion compared to the previously forecasted $ 71.2 - $ 71.9 billion.
Sales of J&J, which manufactures consumer products, pharmaceuticals, medical and diagnostic equipment, increased in the second quarter by 3.9 % to about $18.5 billion.
The pharmaceutical division sales rose 8.9 % to $ 8.6 billion due to good demand for the anticancer drug Imbruvica and drug Xarelto, intended for the prevention of stroke.
The sales of Remicade, a medicine for arthritis, manufactured by J&J, rose 6.7% to $ 1.78 billion.
However, the net income declined to $ 3.997 billion, or $ 1.43 per share, from $ 4.516 billion, or $ 1.61 per share, a year earlier.
The negative impact came from the strengthening of the US dollar against a number of other major currencies; this factor has reduced the rate of sales in the last quarter by 7.9%, the report says.
Excluding special items, Johnson & Johnson earned $ 1.74 per share.
Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected a profit of $ 1.68 per share on revenue of $17.98 billion.
As for the US stock market, the US major indexes pointed to a lower opening on, even if Dow Jones futures show a slight increase. As of 11:44 GMT, or 7:44 ET, Dow was up 4 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 fell 5 points, or 0.21%, while futures on Nasdaq 100 lost 11 points, or 0.24%.