By Matt Grossman

Eli Lilly & Co. on Friday logged a larger fourth-quarter profit to close out 2020, as revenue from an antibody treatment for Covid-19 contributed to higher drug sales overall.

The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company posted earnings of $2.12 billion, or $2.32 a share, compared with a profit of $1.5 billion, or $1.64 a share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company's profit was $2.75 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast an adjusted profit of $2.37 a share.

Revenue was $7.44 billion, up from $6.11 billion. Analysts were anticipating revenue of $7.27 billion.

The quarter's revenue growth was driven by a 24% increase in volume, Eli Lilly said. Sales of bamlanivimab, a Covid-19 antibody therapy, contributed $871.2 million in world-wide sales in the quarter.

For drugs other than bamlanivimab, revenue grew 7% world-wide, the company said. Growth for drugs such as Trulicity, Taltz, Verzenio and Emgality helped drive higher sales of non-Covid-19-related medicines, it said.

U.S. revenue grew 31% to $4.6 billion, while revenue from other countries was up 10% to $2.84 billion, it said.

Operating expenses were up 3% year over year, including $265 million of development expenses for Covid-19-related development, it said.

Write to Matt Grossman at matt.grossman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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