Key Summary
- Net profit in the July-September period fell 23 percent to £1.5 billion from the period last year.
- GSK reaffirms its revenue and profit guidance for the full year.
- Chief executive Luke Miels said the company was "playing a very long-term game".
GSK reported a drop in third-quarter profit on Wednesday (28) as the group was hit by restructuring costs as it tries to cut costs.
Net profit in the July-September period fell 23 percent to £1.5 billion from the period last year, the British pharmaceutical giant said in a statement.
Revenue increased four percent to £8.9 billion from a year earlier, boosted by strong sales of its cancer, respiratory and HIV drugs.
Sales of specialty medicines for HIV, respiratory conditions and cancer jumped 15% and drove the turnover, but revenue from newly-launched asthma drug Exdensur and GSK's vaccines business, which includes shingles shot Shingrix, missed expectations.
But the group reaffirmed its revenue and profit guidance for the full year. Last year, GSK's annual profit more than doubled to £5.7 billion.
"GSK has delivered another strong quarter, with our key growth drivers and new launches performing well," said chief executive Luke Miels, who took over from Emma Walmsley at the start of the year.
The CEO said the company was "playing a very long-term game" and would stay focused on operational delivery, execution and accelerating R&D.
"We just need to keep executing, putting one foot in front of the other and quietly getting on with it," he told journalists.
Restructuring plan
GSK announced in July a three-year cost savings programme to simplify the group and focus resources on its late-stage drugs pipeline and research and development.
It has set a 2029 target for achieving annual savings of £1.9 billion, but has not said if the measures will lead to job cuts.
The company did not divulge many details on its restructuring drive, but Miels said the company was "slightly ahead" of plan.
It took a £328 million charge related to the programme in the quarter.
GSK said in October that it was considering cutting 1,200 jobs at its Belgium subsidiary, representing around 15 percent of its workforce in the country, as it faces falling global demand for vaccines.
The company clarified on Wednesday (28) that these changes would have a "limited" impact in the UK.
Drug trial pipeline
GSK expects to start 22 late-stage studies by the end of 2026, 18 of which are already under way, focusing on specialty medicines and vaccines.
The group is trying to reduce reliance on its blockbuster HIV medicine dolutegravir, which faces patent expiries between 2028 and 2030, and develop longer-acting alternatives such as Apretude which analysts and investors are keenly tracking.
