TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reported a slightly smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter profit on Thursday and said it was on track to cut $3 billion (£2 billion) of costs by the end of 2019. The world's largest generic drugmaker earned 60 cents per diluted share excluding one-time items in the January-March period, down from 94 cents a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 percent to $4.3 billion, mainly due to generic competition to Teva's multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and a decline in revenue from respiratory products and its U.S. generics business. Analysts had forecast Teva would earn 58 cents a share ex-items on revenue of $4.38 billion, I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv showed. Teva has reduced its spend base by $2.5 billion since initiating a restructuring plan in 2018. CEO Kare Schultz said the company was on track to cut $3 billion in spending by the end of this year while continuing to lower debt.