JNJ Results

JNJ outscored all competition and own estimates for $166 billion despite personal losses to the kingdom and cinsumer recall issues

* Q4 EPS ex-items $1.02 vs 97-cent estimate

* Sees 2010 EPS $4.85-$4.95

* Shares fall 1.3 percent (Adds analyst, CEO quotes, updates shares)

By Ransdell Pierson and Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings, helped by sharply lower taxes and a return to solid growth for its array of medicines, medical devices and consumer products.

But the diversified healthcare company, which is traditionally conservative in its outlook, provided a 2010 profit forecast range that barely reached Wall Street projections. Its shares fell 1.3 percent.

J&J on Tuesday said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $2.2 billion, or 79 cents per share, compared with $2.71 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding special items, including an $852 million restructuring charge, J&J earned $1.02 per share. Analysts on average had expected 97 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Company sales rose 9 percent to $16.55 billion, well above analyst predictions of $15.7 billion, helped by a recovering economy and newer products. By contrast, third-quarter sales fell 5.3 percent, hurt by generic competition for the company's Risperdal schizophrenia drug.(REUTERS)