Lilly Resumes Share Buybacks After Long Absence

Drugmaker Eli Lilly, which faces revenue pressure from patent expirations to top products, said it was resuming its program to buy back its stock.

The Indianapolis-based company had not bought back its shares since the middle of the last decade, choosing to use its cash for other purposes. Lilly's board authorized the company to resume a share repurchase program that had begun in 2000, under which it had spent $2.58 billion of a total authorization of $3 billion.

Lilly said it expects to buy the remaining $420 million by the end of the year and anticipates resuming share repurchases following the completion of the current program.

Lilly Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter said in a statement that based on current market valuations and the company's confidence in its prospects, it was an "excellent opportunity to resume buying back Lilly shares even as we maintain the dividend at least at its current level."