Lilly '15 Revenue Forecast Short of Street Views

Eli Lilly and Co, which has been battered in the past three years by competition from generics, forecast 2015 revenue shy of Wall Street expectations.

The company's shares fell nearly 3 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday.

The drugmaker expects sales of $20.3 billion to $20.8 billion for the year, it said on Wednesday.

Analysts on average had estimated sales of about $20.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company, which is betting on its rejuvenated pipeline of drugs particularly for diabetes, oncology and animal health, forecast non-GAAP earnings of $3.10 to $3.20 per share. (Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)