GlaxoSmithKline said it expects profit to rise in 2022 and said it remained on track to spin off its consumer healthcare arm by the middle of the year.
The U.K. drugmaker also beat earnings expectations in the fourth quarter.
Glaxo (ticker: GSK) said sales in 2022 after the spinoff of the consumer arm were expected to rise between 5% to 7%, and adjusted operating profits will grow between 12% to 14%, including the anticipated benefit in royalty income from a settlement with Gilead Sciences (GILD), the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 2022 guidance excludes any contribution from Covid-19 products.
Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were 25.6 pence per share, while revenue rose 13% to £9.53 billion ($12.9 billion). Analysts had expected fourth-quarter earnings of 23.8 pence on sales of £9.49 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus.
Full-year revenue rose 5% to £34.1 billion, excluding the impact of currency movements, driven by double-digit growth in pharmaceuticals and a smaller increase in vaccine sales.
“We have ended the year strongly, with another quarter of excellent performance driven by first-class commercial execution, and we enter 2022 with good momentum,” said Chief Executive Emma Walmsley.
“This is going to be a landmark year for GSK, with a step-change in growth expected and multiple R&D catalysts, including milestones on up to seven key late-stage pipeline assets,” she added.
Glaxo shares, which have risen 2.54% so far this year, were up 0.43% in London trading Wednesday. U.S.-listed shares of Glaxo fell 0.3%.
The U.K. drugmaker, which has come under pressure from activist investors, is seeking to boost the performance of its drugs business. In December, it rejected a £50 billion offer from Unilever for its consumer healthcare arm, a joint venture with Pfizer .
Glaxo said it remains on track to separate and publicly list the consumer unit, which owns brands including Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkillers in mid-2022. It will provide further financial information for the division at its capital markets day on Feb. 28.
“This morning GSK reported sales of £34bn, growing 5% at constant exchange rates. However, of that 5%, 4 percentage points was entirely driven by Covid-19 related products. The company may be trying to reinvent itself but for now several stubborn problems persist,” said Sebastian Skeet, an analyst at Third Bridge.
Sales of Glaxo’s Covid-19 antibody treatment Sotrovimab, developed with Vir Biotechnology , were £828 million in the fourth quarter, up from £114 million in the previous quarter and above market expectations of £774 million.
Glaxo declared a dividend of 23 pence for the quarter, bringing the total payout for 2021 to 80 pence.
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