JNJ’s Medical Devices Division Posts Sales Gains Thanks in Large Part to Orthopedics Biz

Johnson & Johnson’s medical device sector showed modest gains for the company’s 2013 fiscal year, while fourth-quarter results took a little dip.

Overall, for the year (ended Dec. 31), the healthcare giant’s medical device and diagnostics division—the company’s largest—reported sales gains of 3.9 percent to $28.5 billion compared with its performance in 2012. International sales for the year grew 4.2 percent to $15.7 billion, while annual U.S. sales swelled 3.5 percent to $12.8 billion. For the quarter, device sales took a 1 percent dip to approximately $7.31 billion. Sales in the United States dropped 1.4 percent to $3.2 billion, while revenue from international sales tumbled marginally, dropping 0.7 percent to $4.11 billion.

The company’s orthopedics division—thanks to the 2012 acquisition of Synthes—pulled the company’s medical device fat out of the fire. For the year, orthopedic sales jumped nearly 22 percent to $9.5 billion. For the quarter, sales increased 2.8 percent to $2.46 billion. U.S. sales in the quarter were stronger by 4.9 percent ($1.3 billion), while international sales were relatively flat—up 0.8 percent to $1.15 billion.

Notably, charges related to the recall and litigation surrounding the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip program cost the company $251 million in 2013, up from $110 million in 2012.

Strong sales gains also were reported by the device unit’s cardiovascular care division, which posted growth of 4.6 percent for the year (to $2.07 billion) and 5.5 percent for the quarter (to $534 million). U.S. cardiovascular sales for the quarter jumped 12.9 percent to $210 million. The specialty surgery division also posted modest gains.

Other device-related sales were either flat or declining. U.S. diabetes device sales for the fourth quarter, for example, dropped 25.8 percent to $219 million. Overall, worldwide diabetes device revenue for the year fell 11.7 percent to $2.31 billion. Total diagnostic device sales dropped 8.9 percent to $1.89 billion for 2013 and declined 12.1 percent to $466 million for the fourth quarter.

For the company overall, revenue for 2013 was $71 billion, up 6 percent from the year before. Net earnings for the year were $13.8 billion, up 27.4 percent.

From October through December, JNJ reported net income of $3.52 billion ($1.23 a share) up from $2.57 billion (91 cents) a year earlier—an increase of 37 percent. Revenue totaled $18.36 billion, up 4.5 percent from $17.56 billion a year ago, beating analysts’ expectations.