Contact lenses

... J&J posts 33 percent loss for first-quarter Long-Term Archives (Paid) J&J posts 33 percent loss for first-quarter Wednesday, April 18, 2007 BY LINDA A.

JOHNSON Associated Press Johnson & Johnson, the health-care products giant, said yesterday its first-quarter profit fell 22 percent as a big charge for a recent acquisition offset record sales driven by last year's purchase of a stable of top consumer health products.

Still, J&J roundly beat analysts' expectations, sending its shares up 2.4 percent, with double the normal trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange.

The New Brunswick-based maker of contraceptives, contact lenses, prescription drugs and baby products, reported net income of $2.57 billion, or 88 cents per share, down from $3.31 billion, or $1.10 per share, in the first quarter of 2006.

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

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 Mor...

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