Eli Lilly 2Q profit jumps 16 pct on top drug sales

Eli Lilly and Co. said Thursday its second-quarter net income soared 16 percent, boosted in part by strong sales growth from the drugmaker's top drugs.

The performance prompted the Indianapolis-based company to raise its 2010 earnings guidance three months after lowering it.

Lilly said it earned $1.35 billion, or $1.22 per share, in the three months that ended June 30. That's up from $1.16 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose 9 percent to $5.75 billion.

Excluding charges, income was $1.24 per share.

Analyst polled by Thomson Reuters forecast earnings of $1.10 per share on $5.58 billion in revenue.

Sales for Lilly's best-selling drug, the antipsychotic Zyprexa, rose 5 percent to $1.26 billion, while revenue from its second-best seller, the antidepressant Cymbalta, climbed 17 percent to $867.7 million.

The cancer treatment Alimta saw the biggest jump, with sales rising 43 percent to $551.8 million.

The company's total revenue growth outpaced an 8-percent rise in its cost of sales and a 3-percent increase in marketing, selling and administrative expenses.

Lilly now expects 2010 adjusted earnings of between $4.50 and $4.65 per share, up from previous guidance of $4.40 to $4.55 per share.

Analysts expect $4.49 per share.