Eli Lilly's 2009 profit forecast tops estimates

[December 11, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Drugmaker Eli Lilly is forecasting a 2009 profit above Wall Street expectations but expects slower sales growth.

The Indianapolis-based company, which makes the anti-psychotic Zyprexa and antidepressant Cymbalta, says it will earn $4 to $4.25 per share in 2009. Excluding the costs of its $6.5 billion buyout of cancer drug maker ImClone Systems Inc., Lilly expects earnings of $4.35 to $4.55 per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect a profit of $4.26 per share for the year, on average.

Eli Lilly & Co. says 2009 revenue will grow in the low single digits, with rising sales of key drugs partly offset by the stronger dollar's negative effect on overseas revenue, along with generic competition for the cancer drug Gemzar.

[Associated Press]

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