GSK lifts profit and sales guidance after shingles vaccine boost

GSK has raised its yearly profit and sales guidance for the second quarter in a row after beating analysts’ expectations for the three months to September.

The drugmaker’s third-quarter sales rose 9 per cent to £7.8bn from the same period last year while adjusted operating profit rose 18 per cent to £2.6bn, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

GSK “expects good momentum in 2023, further strengthening our confidence in our performance outlook”, said chief executive Emma Walmsley. “We are also making good progress to strengthen our early-stage pipeline and will continue to invest in targeted business development.”

GSK said it expected sales to rise by 8-10 per cent and adjusted operating profit to rise by between 15 and 17 per cent this year, excluding Covid-19 related sales, which it expected to be “substantially lower” in the future.

Vaccine sales increased 5 per cent at constant currencies to £2.6bn, boosted by the post-pandemic rebound, with sales of shingles vaccine Shingrix soaring 36 per cent to £760mn.

GSK shares rose nearly 1 per cent in early trading in London, trimming its decline over the year to 10 per cent.