Johnson & Johnson’s medical devices and diagnostics division recorded flat sales in Q4 2010 but still managed to outperform the group’s pharma and consumer products businesses.

Medtech revenue for the quarter was $6.3bn, with J&J’s Cordis cardiovascular unit performing particularly badly due to continuing pressures in the drug-eluting stent market.

Cordis reported a 10% drop in sales to $629m on a reported basis, while DePuy posted a 2% drop in revenues to$1.4bn. The company’s Diabetes Care business posted a 2% dip in sales to $644m.

These losses were offset by gains from the firm’s Ethicon (+4% to $1.2bn), Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (+7% to $536m) and Vision Care (+7% to $659m) businesses. The firm’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery business saw flat sales at $1.3bn.