Eli Lilly profit falls and Pfizer has improved

Eli Lilly filed yesterday a drop in fourth-quarter results, with competition from generic drugs resulting in less revenue. The American pharmaceutical had profit of $ 827 million, or 74 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $ 858 million, or 77 cents per dollar, a year earlier.
Excluding extraordinary items, the profit was 85 cents per share. Analysts predicted, on average, profit of 78 cents. Revenue fell by about 1 percent, to $ 5.96 billion, above the market estimate of $ 5.81 billion.
The company said that sales in the fall by the loss of the patent medicine Zyprexa (for schizophrenia) was partially offset by gains from sales of other medicines and products for veterinary use.
The company expects profit this year will be between $ 3.82 and $ 3.97 per share, excluding extraordinary items, while sales should stay steady or grow slightly.
Competitor
Pharmaceutical Pfizer already has reported a profit for the fourth quarter above expectations, helped by a recovery in sales in emerging markets. But the company gave a profit forecast in 2013 under the expected by Wall Street analysts.
Pfizer, largest laboratory of the United States, said the quarterly profit quadrupled to $ 6.32 billion, or 86 cents per share, with a gain on the sale of nutritional products business to Swiss group Nestle for about $ 12 billion in November. A year earlier, profit was $ 1.44 billion, or 19 cents per share.
Excluding extraordinary items, Pfizer had profit of 47 cents per share in the fourth quarter. Analysts expected, on average, a profit of 44 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/s.
Global sales fell 7% to $ 15.1 billion, hit by generic competition to its cholesterol medicine Lipitor. Pfizer predicted earnings per share in 2013 from $ 2.20 to $ 2.30 per share, excluding extraordinary items.