J&J posts losses for Q4, full-year earnings

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson posted decreases in sales for fourth quarter 2010 and for the year, according to an earnings statement released Tuesday.

Sales for the quarter were $15.6 billion, a 5.5% decrease from fourth quarter 2009’s $16.5 billion. Sales for the year were $61.6 billion, down by 0.5% from $61.9 billion in 2009.

Meanwhile, profits for the quarter were $1.9 billion, a 12% decrease from $2.2 billion in fourth quarter 2009. Profits for the year were $13.3 billion, an 8.7% increase over $12.3 billion in 2009.

In the pharmaceutical segment, generic competition and other factors decreased sales for most of the company’s major products, but the HIV drug Prezista (darunavir) had sales of $401 million for the year, compared with $303 million in 2009. The new, extended-release schizophrenia drug Invega (paliperidone) had sales of $270 million, compared with $266 million in 2009. The pharmaceutical segment as a whole had sales of $12.5 billion for the year, a 4% decrease from $13 billion in 2009.