Drugmaker Eli Lilly's 1Q profit falls 15 percent

[April 18, 2011]  INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Eli Lilly says its first-quarter profit fell 15 percent because of charges for restructuring and a diabetes drug development agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim.

The Indianapolis company says it earned $1.06 billion, or 95 cents per share, in the three months that ended March 31. That's down from $1.25 billion, or $1.13 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 6 percent to $5.84 billion.

Excluding the charges, Lilly's profit was $1.24 per share.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect, on average, earnings of $1.17 per share on $5.71 billion in revenue.

Sales for Lilly's best-selling drug, the antipsychotic Zyprexa, climbed 6 percent to $1.28 billion. Revenue from its second-best seller, the antidepressant Cymbalta, rose 13 percent to $909 million.

[Associated Press]

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