J&J reports Q2
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Skin care continues to drive performance of firm's consumer business, booking operational growth of 5.9% for fiscal 2009 second quarter. Neutrogena and Aveeno again are standout brands, the latter having launched Nourish+ hair care -- formulated with a wheat protein complex to revitalize damaged hair -- during the quarter (1"The Rose Sheet" March 2, 2009). Firm's U.S. skin-care sales advanced 8.4% operationally, while international sales were up 3.8% partly on strength of products acquired last year from Chinese brand Dabao (2"The Rose Sheet" Aug. 4, 2008, In Brief). Oral-care revenue was down 5.9% in the U.S. due to "softness in the category," but increased 9.5% abroad on an operational basis, with Listerine leading the charge. Overall consumer sales declined 4.5% to $3.9 bil. in what CFO Dominic Caruso calls "one of the most challenging quarters for year-over-year comparisons in [firm's] history" owing to tighter consumer spending, stiffer private-label competition and the loss of market exclusivity as patents expired for J&J drugs including Risperdal and Topomax. However, based on recent launches, approvals and filings with FDA, firm says it has "one of the most robust pharmaceutical pipelines in [its] history." Total company sales in Q2 were $15.2 bil. worldwide, down 7.4%, on a reported basis