Johnson & Johnson lifts sales outlook for the year

Johnson & Johnson boosted its outlook for the year, even in the face of a shortfall in revenues during the second quarter due to competition for some of its key prescription drugs and foreign currency headwinds.

Revenue rose 1.9% to $18.84bn, driving net income of $3.8bn for adjusted earnings per share of $1.40. Excluding one-time items, the company's quarterly EPS came in at $1.83.

That compared to analysts' projections for EPS of $1.80 on $18.95bn of sales.

To take note of, some market commentary highlighted the fall in sales of its rheumatoid-arthritis treatment Remicade due to competition as a key reason for the firm's miss on sales.

However, the multinational healthcare giant lifted its guidance for full-year earnings to between $7.12 to $7.22 a share, versus a prior forecast for between $7.0 to $7.15.

Sales were also now seen higher, at between $75.8bn to $76.1bn. J&J had previously guided towards revenues in a range of between $75.4bn to $76.1bn.

Chief Alex Gorksy said he expected sales to accelerate in the backhalf of the year as a result of the investments the company had made, citing strong momentum in the company's drug pipeline and the recent acquisition of Swiss outfit Actelion as the drivers

"Our second-quarter results reflect strong adjusted earnings growth and we are optimistic that the investments we are making will accelerate our sales growth in the second half of this year," he said.

Sales at the group's pharmaceutical business, its largest unit, edged 0.2% lower to $8.64bn impacted by foreign exchange rate effects, while the medical services business recorded a 4.9% boost in sales to $6.73 while sales in it's consumer products division grew 1.7% to $3.48bn.

Also, the group faced pressure by a stronger U.S. dollar and weakness in some emerging markets, with nearly half of its sales overseas.