UK pharmaceutical giant GSK said Covid-related sales hit £1.4bn last year as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.
The company, which recently rejected a bid from consumer conglomerate Unilever for its consumer products division, also said it expected pandemic-related sales to slow after this year due to lower margins on its antibody treatment.
For the year to December, 31 pre-tax profit fell 22% to £5.44bn year-on-year on flat revenue of £34.11b, hindered by lower vaccines sales, and weakness in the consumer healthcare business.
Demand for GSK’s sotrovimab, which it developed with Vir Biotechnology, has surged after it was found to be one of the few Covid-19 treatments shown to have worked against the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Sotrovimab sales were £828m in the final quarter, up from £114m in the previous three months and well above market expectations of £774m
Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were 25.6p a share pence per share, while turnover rose 13% to £9.53bn. Analysts
GSK added that it remained on track to de-merge its consumer healthcare business by the middle of 2022.
