At Johnson & Johnson, profit falls but beats expectations

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), the world's biggest health care company, today announced net earnings for the second quarter of 2009 declined 4.7 percent to $3.2 billion, or $1.15 per share, beating analyst estimates of $1.11 earnings per share in the second quarter. It reported earnings of $1.18 per share in the same quarter last year.

The health care giant also reported sales of $15.2 billion for the second quarter of 2009, a decrease of 7.4 percent as compared to the second quarter of 2008 mostly due to exchange rate impact. The street, on average, expected $15 billion in revenue.