(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co (N:LLY) cut its 2015 revenue forecast, issued earlier this month, as the U.S. drugmaker expects a bigger hit from a stronger dollar.
The company had accounted for an expected $500 million negative impact from the stronger dollar in its earlier forecast.
Large U.S. healthcare companies such as Johnson & Johnson (N:JNJ), Pfizer Inc (N:PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (N:BMY) have in the past weeks issued 2015 earnings forecasts below Wall Street expectations, citing the stronger dollar.
After hitting a 6-1/2 month low in May, the dollar (DXY) has surged about 20 percent against a basket of major currencies, making overseas sales denominated in other currencies less valuable in dollar terms.
Lilly now expects 2015 revenue to be in the range of $19.5 billion-$20 billion (12.95 billion-13.29 billion pounds), below the average analyst estimate of $20.67 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company had earlier forecast 2015 revenue to be in the range of $20.3 billion-$20.8 billion.
Lilly backed its 2015 adjusted earnings forecast of $3.10-$3.20 per share.
The company's hardships began in late 2011, when its best-selling Zyprexa treatment for schizophrenia began facing competition from cheaper generics, followed by patent expirations on its leading Cymbalta depression drug and Evista osteoporosis treatment.
Earnings fell 41 percent to $428.5 million, or 40 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $727.5 million, or 67 cents per share, a year earlier.
Lilly took restructuring and other special charges of $401 million in the quarter.
Excluding special items, Lilly earned 75 cents per share, above analysts' average estimate of 73 cents per share.
Total revenue slid 12 percent to $5.12 billion, below Wall Street's average expectation of $5.2 billion.