Yahoo Finance GSK racks up £1.4bn in COVID sales ahead of consumer health split
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) racked up £1.4bn in COVID-related sales as the company remains on track to split its consumer healthcare business by the middle of 2022.
Pre-tax profits were down by more than a fifth last year to £5.4bn, while revenue grew 5% to £34.1bn.
Pharmaceuticals sales up 4% at £17.7bn, with COVID-related sales accounting for £1.4bn in 2021, driven largely by its antibody drug sotrovimab.
The company forecasts a rise in operating profits between 12% and 14% this year as both sales and earnings beat expectations in the fourth quarter.
GSK said it remained on track to de-merge its consumer healthcare business by the middle of 2022, a spin-off that follows the company’s rejection of Unilever’s £50bn offer for the maker of over-the-counter medicines and vitamins late last year.
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Emma Walmsley, chief executive of GSK, said: “We have ended the year strongly, with another quarter of excellent performance driven by first-class commercial execution, and we enter 2022 with good momentum.
“This is going to be a landmark year for GSK, with a step-change in growth expected and multiple R&D catalysts, including milestones on up to seven key late-stage pipeline assets.
“2022 is also the year when we demerge our world-leading consumer healthcare business.”
A capital markets event later this month will set out the growth ambitions for the demerged consumer healthcare business.
The healthcare giant confirmed three major product approvals over the course of 2021 and currently has 43 medicines and 21 vaccines in its development pipeline.
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Sheena Berry, equity analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said: “Overall, GSK’s quarterly results and guidance were fine, but nothing to shout about.
“Strengthening the pipeline remains a focus with the data from the RSV vaccine in the first half of this year an important catalyst. A sale of the consumer business would also provide GSK with significant cash to invest in the pipeline.”
The company will pay a dividend of 23p per share for the quarter.
Watch: Unilever all but drops bid for GSK consumer arm
