J&J's 4th-qtr 2005 sales drop 1.1% on low Rx

US health care giant Johnson & Johnson says that sales in fourth-quarter 2005 totaled $12.6 billion, a 1.1% decline on the comparable period of the previous year, after a drop in prescription drug sales undermined a strong performance from medical devices and consumer products.

Domestic revenues fell 4.2%, while international sales rose 3.1%, reflecting 7.5% operational growth and a negative currency impact of 4.4%. However, net earnings soared 79.4% to $2.20 billion, or $0.73 per share, matching the average of 18 analyst predictions collected in a Thomson Financial survey. Earnings for the year were also healthy at $10.4 billion, up 22.4% on full-year 2004.

Medical devices help performance