Eli Lilly profit beats estimates on strong Trulicity sales

Eli Lilly reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its diabetes drug Trulicity and psoriasis treatment Taltz.

Shares of the company, which also reiterated its full-year adjusted profit forecast, rose 1.3% in trading before the opening bell.

The drugmaker has been relying on its newer drugs such as Trulicity and Taltz to spur revenue growth as older medicines including erectile dysfunction treatment Cialis lose market share to cheaper generic versions.

Trulicity sales rose 31% to $1.21 billion, accounting for nearly a fifth of total sales in the fourth quarter.

The company said the drug’s sales were slightly crimped by higher rebates that drugmakers offer to middlemen such as pharmacy benefit managers to make sure patients have access to their products.

Sales of Taltz rose 37% to $420.1 million.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.73 per share, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.52 per share, according to IBES estimates from Refinitiv.

Net income rose to $1.50 billion, or $1.64 per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.13 billion, or $1.10 per share, a year earlier, when the company had taken a $329.4 million charge.

Revenue rose 8.5% to $6.11 billion, surpassing the average analyst estimate of $5.91 billion.