BRITISH drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Wednesday (May 1) said that its net profit fell 23 per cent in the first quarter as the company faced higher exceptional costs compared with a year earlier.

Profit after tax dropped to £1.1 billion (S$1.8 billion), GSK added in an earnings statement. The fall came despite sales of its drugs sales rising 10 per cent to £7.4 billion.

GSK chief executive Emma Walmsley said that the quarter saw further progress in the final trials of new drugs. “We have strengthened prospects for growth in all of our key therapeutic areas this quarter: infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory/immunology and oncology,” she added.

Following the update, the group’s share price edged up 0.1 per cent in early trading on London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index, as the group also upgraded its full-year outlook for sales.

“GSK has started 2024 in rude health. Strong growth in vaccine and speciality medicines drove a double-digit rise in group sales,” noted Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Q1 saw GSK agree to buy Aiolos Bio for up to US$1.4 billion, with a focus on an asthma medication still at the testing stage. AFP

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