Eli Lilly And Co CFO: Solid Underlying Performance Despite FX Headwind

Eli Lilly and Co LLY came out with mixed first quarter earnings earlier on Thursday. EPS for the company excluding items came at $0.50 versus $0.67 I reported for the same quarter last year.

Derica Rice, Eli Lilly CFO, was on CNBC recently to weigh in on the earnings.

Solid Underlying Performance

“We are off to a very good start to the year, as far as animal health recall that we acquired Novartis’s animal health business that we closed January 1st,” Rice said. “So, those results are in our first-quarter earnings [are received], if you look at last year it wasn’t in our business.”

He continued, “So, that’s what driving that growth, but despite the FX headwind, we have very solid underlying performance trends and through good cost contained efforts. We have really been able to leverage that to strong bottom-line performance and couple that with positive pipe-line movements as well.”

Reduction In Profit Forecasts

Lice was asked if the cut in full year profit costs was solely because of the rising dollar. He replied, “Well on a non-GAAP basis on an adjusted basis we reaffirmed our guidance of EPS of $3.10 to $3.20. We did update our reported our GAAP guidance and this is really to reflect some restructuring charges as well as some business development deals that we consummated in the first quarter.”

“We are able to in-license some immuno oncology drugs as well as we also do a deal with Pfizer where we are able to move a phase III drug, begin to remove it from clinical hold to the FDA and we could resume phase III studies for that drug,” Rice concluded.