Lilly Profit, Revenue Increase
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY) is reporting fourth quarter net income of $478.4 million, up from $428.5 million during the same period the previous year. Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter says the results, driven in part by increased sales of diabetes drugs, "reinforce our confidence in the future."
Lilly says fourth-quarter 2015 revenue increased 5 percent, due to the inclusion of Novartis Animal Health and higher sales for products including Trulicity and Cyramza. Revenue, which totaled $5.38 billion, topped most analysts’ expectations. The company is projecting 2016 revenue between $20.2 billion and $20.7 billion. It expects growth to come from products including Humalog, Cialis, Cyramza, Trulicity and animal health products.
Earlier this year, Lechleiter told attendees of a health care conference in San Francisco that that the company is entering its post-patent expiration period in a position of strength. During the so-called "YZ" period, the company experienced thousands of layoffs and billions of dollars in lost revenue. He said, over the past 18 months, Lilly has loaded up its diabetes portfolio with products including Jardiance, Trulicity, Glyxambi, Synjardy, Basaglar and the Humalog U200 KwikPen.
For the full year 2015, Lilly is reporting net income of $2.4 billion, up one percent from 2015.