Discounts eat into Lilly's bottom line in third quarter

In New York, shares in American drugmaker Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) fell almost 4% by mid-morning on Wednesday, after a third quarter results statement revealed the firm had missed sales expectations amid steep discounts for diabetes drug Trulicity (dulaglutide).

Revenue for the third quarter was $5.5 billion, up 3% from the same period of 2018. Reported net income, following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), was $1.3 billion, a 9% increase.

Partly due to a reduced tax burden, profits were better than expected for the quarter. The earnings per share (EPS) figure was up 22% at $1.37. Lilly raised its EPS expectations for the full year to between $5.75 and $5.85, up from $5.67 to $5.77.