(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings and raised its profit forecast for the year, largely due to strong sales of its newer drugs, including diabetes treatments Trulicity and Jardiance.
The upbeat results and forecast eased some investor concerns following a regulatory setback to the company's promising rheumatoid arthritis drug.
Advisers to the U.S. FDA late on Monday voted against approving a higher dose of the rheumatoid arthritis drug, while recommending a lower dose.
For the first quarter, Jardiance brought in $151 million in sales, ahead of the consensus estimate of $149 million, according to brokerage Credit Suisse. Sales from the newly launched Trulicity were $678.3 million, beating the estimate of $614 million.
Sales from the company's psoriasis drug, Taltz, however, came in at $146.5 million, falling short of analysts' estimate of $196.75 million.
Lilly reported net income of $1.22 billion, or $1.16 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $110.8 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.34 per share, beating the average estimate of $1.13.
Revenue rose 9 percent to $5.70 billion, beating the average estimate of $5.51 billion.
Lilly raised its 2018 profit forecast to $5.10 to $5.20 per share from $4.81 to $4.91 per share, saying the increase was due to lower Medicaid utilization and more commercial insurance coverage for several products.
The company's shares were marginally up at $80.54 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
