Lilly’s profit surges as COVID-19 spurs patients to load up on prescriptions

Eli Lilly and Co. said first-quarter profit soared 29%, excluding one-time expenses, as customers filled more prescriptions, primarily for diabetes medicines, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker on Thursday posted earnings of $1.59 billion, excluding costs related the divestiture of its Elanco animal products unit and other one-time costs.

Per-share profit was $1.60. Analysts were expecting $1.55 per share, according to Zacks Equity Research.

Lilly raised its projected earnings per share f0r the full year to $6.20 to $6.40 on a reported basis and $6.70 to $6.90 on a non-GAAP basis—up from a range of $5.75 to $5.85 a share.

“Lilly is rising to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it be by supporting our employees, our communities, patients with chronic diseases who are the most vulnerable to the virus, or directly attacking the disease with new and existing therapies,” David A. Ricks, Lilly’s chairman and CEO, said in a written statement.

In the first quarter of 2020, worldwide revenue was $5.86 billion, up 15% compared with the first quarter of 2019.

Lilly said the higher revenue was driven by a 22% increase due to volume, partially offset by a 6% decrease due to lower realized prices.

The company said worldwide volume growth in the first quarter was boosted by “increased customer buying patterns and patient prescription trends” resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. That increased revenue by about $250 million.

In the U.S., the COVID-19 pandemic boosted Lilly’s portfolio of diabetes medicines, with estimated increases of $70 million to $80 million for insulin products and $30 million to $40 million for the diabetes drug Trulicity.

Worldwide revenue was boosted by strong sales from cancer drug Verzenio, arthritis drug Olumiant, Trulicity, the psoriasis drug Taltz and other newer products. It was partially offset by declining sales of older products, including the osteoporosis drug Forteo and the diabetes drug Humalog.

Lilly said expects full-year revenue of $23.7 billion to $24.2 billion. That is up from previous guidance of $22 billion to $22.5 billion.

In premarket trading Thursday, Lilly shares were fetching $157.10, up 39 cents from Wednesday’s close. Lilly shares are up nearly 20% since the start of 2020.

Indiana has 54 publicly traded companies. Excluding firms that began the year below $1, Lilly is the only one that is up for the year. The S&P 500 has shed nearly 15% of its value in 2020.