British pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline on Wednesday posted falling net profit and rising sales, but its share price slid on concerns over its vaccines division.
Profit after tax sank 29 percent to £2.2 billion ($2.8 billion) in the six months to the end of June from a year earlier, largely due to adverse foreign exchange moves, GSK said in a statement.
However, core operating profit excluding exceptional items jumped 18 percent to £2.5 billion.
And turnover increased eight percent to £15.25 billion, boosted by cancer and HIV treatments.
That sparked an upgrade to its earnings outlook — although it lowered sales guidance for its vaccines arm.
“The strong performance was broad-based, although the shingles vaccine Shingrix, which has been a key growth driver in recent years, saw sales drop by four percent,” noted Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan.
In reaction, GSK’s share price slid more than one percent in late morning deals on London’s rising stock market.
“Even though GSK’s results beat expectations and full-year guidance was upgraded, the vaccines arm is flagging. Its shingles treatment is the problem child with a poor showing in the US,” added Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
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