Lilly publishes 2006 financial results

Eli Lilly has announced the publication of its results for the 2006 fiscal year. The company has reported a seven per cent increase in sales to $15.69 billion (7.99 billion pounds) during the year, with sales of newer products, including Cialis, Byetta, Strattera, Symbyax and others, growing 47 per cent during the year to $3.8 billion, accounting for 24 per cent of all total sales.

Net income rose from $1.98 billion last year to $2.66 billion in 2006, while earnings per share rose from $1.81 in 2005 to $2.45 this year.

Sidney Taurel, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, commented that the firm had achieved its expected sales and earnings targets for the year while making progress on a number of strategic issues.

“In addition to our strong financial results, we successfully completed the acquisition of Icos, received a positive court ruling on the validity of Zyprexa’s patent and resolved much of the uncertainty regarding Zyprexa product liability litigation,” he said.

He added that the company was in a good position to deliver on its financial expectations again over the coming year.

Earlier this month, Lilly announced that it had entered into a settlement agreement with the firms representing 14 plaintiffs involved in liability litigation relating to Zyprexa.