Johnson & Johnson’s third- quarter profit fell 7 percent as litigation and acquisition costs and factory upgrade expenses related to its consumer product recalls offset higher medicine and medical device sales. J&J raised its 2012 profit forecast.
However, the world’s biggest maker of health products yet again pushed back the timeline for all its recalled over-the-counter drugs returning to stores, to sometime next year. Initially, it predicted that would happen by early 2011.
The recalls of nonprescription medicines, including adult and children’s Tylenol and Motrin, have cost the company well over $1 billion in lost sales and costs to upgrade two factories and completely rebuild a third.
The company said Tuesday that its net income was $2.97 billion. That’s down from $3.2 billion in 2011’s third quarter. Revenue rose 6.5 percent to $17.05 billion.
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