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This article Email this page My Canadian Business Join our advisory panel Excluding a charge of $807 million for the February acquisition of Conor Medsystems, J&J said net income was $1.16 per share.

In the year-ago quarter, results were boosted by an after-tax gain of $368 million from the breakup fee J&J got after medical device maker Guidant Corp.

backed out of an acquisition agreement and instead was purchased by Boston Scientific Corp.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings per share of $1.05, on sales of $14.44 billion.

Sales totaled $15.04 billion, up nearly 16 percent from $12.99 billion a year earlier.

"We view this quarter as a very strong one," analyst Glenn Reicin of Morgan Stanley wrote in a research report.

However, Reicin and analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities both said J&J needs more mergers or acquisitions to ensure growth.

During a conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso raised J&J's profit forecast for the year to $4.02 to $4.07 per share, up 14 cents from his January forecast.

But some analysts expected the low ...

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