GSK Raises Outlook After Q2 Beat, Eyes USD 53.44B Sales by 2031
Bengaluru: British drugmaker GSK expects annual sales and profit to be towards the top of its forecast range, after second-quarter sales and earnings beat expectations on Wednesday, bolstering its bid to reignite growth amid U.S. political challenges.
The development is a positive step towards GSK's long-term ambition to meet annual sales of more than 40 billion pounds ($53.44 billion) by 2031 amidst multiple headwinds, including potential pharmaceutical tariffs.
The drugmaker is also focusing on expanding its pipeline to make up for rising competition and declining sales of top products, and faces regulatory and legal challenges.
"GSK's strong momentum in 2025 continues with another quarter of excellent performance," CEO Emma Walmsley said in a statement. The company has forecast 2025 revenue to increase between 3 per cent and 5 per cent, with core profit growth per share of 6 per cent to 8 per cent.
GSK shares rose nearly 2 per cent in early trading, but reversed course to trade down 0.1 per cent by 0759 GMT. It reiterated that it was well positioned to weather any financial impact from tariffs, and said its outlook had factored in levies implemented so far and expected tariffs on European goods after a U.S.-EU trade deal announced over the weekend.
The U.S., the world's biggest pharmaceuticals market worth $635 billion, accounted for slightly over half of GSK's sales last year, while the EU accounted for about 21 per cent.
For the second quarter, overall turnover rose 6% to nearly 8 billion pounds on constant currency rates, GSK said, while adjusted earnings stood at 46.5 pence per share.
That compared with analysts' expectations of 7.80 billion pounds and 42.8 pence, respectively, according to a company-compiled consensus.
The company's largest business, specialty medicines, posted double-digit sales growth, as did its divisions for HIV treatments, respiratory therapies and cancer medicines. GSK also said that it had set aside about 1.26 billion pounds for legal costs while it ramped up patent challenges against COVID vaccine developers Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna.
