Johnson & Johnson Q1 Profit Down; Cuts FY15 Adj. EPS Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported that its net earnings for the first-quarter decreased to $4.3 billion or $1.53 per share, from the prior year's $4.7 billion $1.64 per share in the previous year.

First-quarter 2015 net earnings included after-tax intangible amortization expense of approximately $0.2 billion and a net gain of after-tax special items of about $0.1 billion, primarily related to net litigation gains partially offset by costs related to the DePuy ASR Hip program.

Excluding these special items, adjusted net earnings for the latest-quarter were $4.4 billion and earnings per share were $1.56, representing decreases of 5.9% and 4.3%, respectively, as compared to the same period in 2014. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.54 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Quarterly sales dropped 4.1% to $17.37 billion from $18.12 billion in the prior year quarter. Wall Street expected revenues of $17.31 billion.

The Company updated its adjusted earnings guidance for full-year 2015 to $6.4 to $6.19 per share. Earlier, the company expected adjusted earnings of $6.12 to $6.27 per share. Analysts expect annual earnings of $6.16 per share.

The Company's guidance excludes the impact of after-tax intangible amortization expense and special items.