Johnson & Johnson Says Proposed Opioid Settlement to Lower Reported Third-quarter Profit by $3 Billion

Posted on the 23 October 2019 by Merks50

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (N:JNJ) on Wednesday lowered its previously reported profit for the third quarter to $1.8 billion from $4.8 billion to account for a proposed opioid settlement payment.

The company lowered its earnings per share for the quarter to $0.66 from $1.81, and said there was no impact to its adjusted earnings numbers.

A framework deal, announced on Monday, was hammered out by some companies and attorneys general in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas, and will need broad support among the state attorneys general and local governments that sued several drugmakers and distributors over the opioid crisis.

J&J said it could not predict when or if the deal would be finalized.