Lilly quarterly sales, profit beats forecasts

(Reuters) – Eli Lilly & Co’s quarterly profit fell on plunging sales of its Zyprexa schizophrenia drug, but results handily topped Wall Street forecasts, helped by strong sales of anti-depressant Cymbalta and demand for the company’s animal health products. The earnings beat, relative to investor expectations, was also due to cost controls, surging demand in China for its products and because Zyprexa’s decline was not as steep as had been feared, said company spokesman Mark Taylor. The Indianapolis drugmaker said on Wednesday it earned $1.01 billion, or 91 cents per share in the first quarter. …