Lilly reports 4Q loss

Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.66 billion, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Indianapolis-based company said it had a loss of $1.58 per share. Earnings, adjusted for pretax expenses and non-recurring costs, came to $1.14 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.08 per share.

The drugmaker posted revenue of $6.16 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.96 billion.

For the year, the company reported a loss of $204.1 million, or 19 cents per share, swinging to a loss in the period. Revenue was reported as $22.87 billion.

Lilly expects full-year earnings in the range of $4.81 to $4.91 per share, with revenue in the range of $23 billion to $23.5 billion.

Lilly shares have increased almost 2 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen almost 6 percent. The stock has climbed 15 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LLY at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LLY