Earlier this week, big-pharma powerhouse Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) announced second-quarter financial results that wouldn't depress anyone.
After adjusting for accounting changes due to the recent acquisition of ICOS, revenue was up 14% and net income grew 26%, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.90 for the quarter. Big jumps in sales of drugs like the antidepressant Cymbalta and diabetes treatment Byetta, and even a 9% increase in Zyprexa, accounted for most of this top- and bottom-line growth.
Based partly on the better-than-expected top-line growth this quarter, Lilly is guiding for 2007 GAAP earnings per share of $2.75-$2.85. Financially, the second half of the year isn't going to look as good as the first half, as approximately 25% of Zyprexa sales will be directly facing generic competition in two of the company's largest pharmaceutical markets, Canada and Germany.
On the R&D front, Lilly just received a positive opinion from an FDA advisory panel recommending osteoporosis treatment Evista also be approved to reduce the risk of invasive breast cancer. The advisory panel vote was a close one, though, and the FDA doesn't always follow the recommendation of its advisory committees. However, this additional approval would be a huge boon to Lilly, as Evista is its fifth highest-grossing drug with sales of $278 million in the second quarter.
It would be tough for anyone to complain about Lilly's performance in the second quarter. It did well on both its top- and bottom-line growth and didn't need to cut funding of its R&D drug pipeline to achieve these results. As with any drugmaker, though, it's not past performance that matters most, but how it does in the future. Lilly has to continue performing well before the generic competition envelopes many of its top products in a few years.
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Fool contributor Brian Lawler does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
