GSK confirms guidance after strong first quarter

(Sharecast News) - GSK reiterated shrugged off the potential impact of tariffs on Wednesday and reiterated its full-year outlook, following a strong start to the year. The blue chip drugs giant said total sales rose 2% in the first quarter, or by 4% on a constant currency basis, to £7.52bn.

Strong demand for speciality medicines, its largest unit, drove the performance, with sales up 17% at £2.9bn. It also helped to mitigate a 6% decline in vaccines, to £2.1bn.

Core operating profit jumped 4% at £2.53bn, supported by a 0.5 percentage point increase in the operating margin, to 33.7%. Core earnings per share rose 4p at 44.9p.

Emma Walmsley, chief executive, said: "GSK continues to make strong progress, demonstrating the quality, strength and resilience of our portfolio."

Looking to the rest of the year, GSK left its full-year guidance unchanged, noting that it was "well positioned to respond to the potential financial impact of sector-specific tariffs, should they be implement, with mitigation options identified in the supply chain and productivity initiatives".

As well as imposing sweeping tariffs on countries, earlier this month Donald Trump announced plans for "major" duties on pharmaceutical imports, though the White House has so far not provided any further details.

GSK expects annual turnover to increase by between 3% and 5%, with core operating profits forecast to grow by between 6% and 8% and core EPS by the same amount.