GSK share price falls amid flat vaccines sales

Shares in GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) have fallen into the red in afternoon trade, as the company updated investors on its third-quarter performance. While Britain’s biggest drugmaker revealed a rise in overall sales, its Vaccine sales came in flat.

As of 13:17 BST, GSK’s share price had lost 1.82 percent to 1,485.00p, underperforming the broader market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.43 percent lower at 7,494.38 points. The group’s shares have given up more than four percent of their value in the year-to-date, as compared with a near five-percent rise in the Footsie.

Third-quarter results

GSK reported in a statement today that its adjusted earnings per share had climbed three percent to 32.5p in the third quarter, while its sales came in four percent higher at £7.84 billion. Reuters reports that analysts on average had forecast 31.8p and £7.88 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.

While the company enjoyed sales growth at its Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Healthcare divisions, its Vaccines segment delivered flat sales.

“Performance in the quarter showed continued progress with sales growth and improved operating margins,” GSK’s chief executive Emma Walmsley, who took over from Sir Andrew Witty earlier this year, commented in the statement, adding that the blue-chip drugmaker remained on track to deliver its full-year earnings guidance of earnings growth of between three percent and five percent.  

‘Encouraging’ performance

The Financial Times quoted Simon Gergel, chief investment officer for UK equities at Allianz Global Investors, as describing the pharmco’s third quarter performance as ‘encouraging’.

“We are seeing the benefits of the Novartis transaction coming through with margins gains in vaccines and especially in consumer healthcare, where they reported a 20 percent margin for the first time, in line with their 2020 target,” he pointed out. 

As of 13:45 BST, Wednesday, 25 October, GlaxoSmithKline plc share price is 1,471.00p.