Lilly fourth-quarter profit fall as generics hurt sales

Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings had fallen as competition from generic drugs drove revenue lower.

The U.S. drugmaker said it had earned $827 million, or 74 cents per share, compared with $858 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as asset impairments, restructuring and other special charges, Lilly earned 85 cents per share. Analysts on average were expecting 78 cents per share.

(Reporting By Caroline Humer and Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)