Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations and boosted its profit outlook for the rest of the year this morning before the market’s open.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based healthcare giant posted profits of $2.63 billion, or $1.05 per diluted share, on sales of $17.05 billion during the 3 months ended Sept. 30.

That amounts to a 6.5% top-line gain, but a 17.9% bottom-line slide. Still, adjusted to exclude 1-time items, J&J reported EPS of $1.25 per share, beating The Street’s estimate of $1.21.

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CFO Dominic Caruso told analysts on a conference call that J&J’s $20 billion buyout of Swiss orthopedics giant Synthes added 5.8% to operating sales growth. The addition was reflected in the orthopedics segment, which saw total sales jump 65.5%, from $1.38 billion during Q3 last year to $2.29 billion during Q3 2012.

Sales for Johnson & Johnson’s cardiovascular unit were off 6.3% overall.

The company said it now expects to post adjusted 2012 EPS of $5.05-$5.10 per share, up from $5.00-$5.07 last quarter and approaching its Q1 outlook of $5.05-$5.15 apiece.

"Our third-quarter results reflected continued sales momentum driven by strong growth of key products, successful new product launches, and the addition of Synthes to our family of companies. We advanced our pipelines with regulatory approvals for a number of new products, the submission of several new drug applications, and the completion of several strategic collaborations," CEO Alex Gorsky said in prepared remarks. "I’m extremely proud of our talented and dedicated colleagues throughout Johnson & Johnson and I have great confidence in our ability to deliver sustainable growth and bring meaningful innovations to patients and customers around the world."