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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEli Lilly and Co. posted a $3.6 billion fourth-quarter loss because of its $6.5 billion acquisition of New York-based ImClone Systems Inc.
Not counting that deal, however, Lilly’s profits beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts by two cents per share.
Indianapolis-based Lilly earned $1.07 per share excluding the ImClone purchase. Analysts were expecting $1.05 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. A year ago, Lilly earned 90 cents per share, excluding extraordinary items. With the ImClone deal, Lilly lost $3.31 per share.
Total sales for the quarter were flat at $5.2 billion.
For the year, Lilly’s sales topped $20 billion, an increase of 9 percent over 2007. Because of the ImClone deal and a $1.4 billion litigation settlement over bestselling drug Zyprexa, Lilly posted a $2 billion loss for the year, compared with a $3 billion profit in 2007.
Sales growth in 2008 was led by Alimta, Cymbalta and Cialis, which grew 35 percent, 28 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Lilly reaffirmed its profit forecast for 2009, saying it should fall between $4 and $4.25 per share. In 2008, Lilly’s earnings per share, excluding one-time items, totaled $4.02.
“Our solid financial performance, driven by volume-based sales growth, improved gross margins and better productivity, allowed us to make important investments to advance our pipeline of promising molecules, resolve much of the uncertainty surrounding product litigation and complete several strategic business development transactions, most notably the ImClone acquisition,” Lilly CEO John Lechleiter said in a statement.
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