By Pushkala Aripaka and Maggie Fick
(Reuters) -GSK reaffirmed its 2025 outlook and said it was “well positioned” to absorb potential U.S. pharmaceutical tariffs, after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.
The British drugmaker’s shares rose 2.4% to about 14.7 pounds by 0750 GMT, among the top gainers on London’s FTSE 100 index, which was up 0.06%.
U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed sector-specific tariffs, including an as-yet unspecified “major” levy on pharmaceuticals, prompting concern given the pharma industry’s interwoven global supply chain.
One report estimated pharma tariffs could raise U.S. drug costs by $51 billion annually.
GSK said it had identified options within its supply chain and productivity initiatives to mitigate any hit from pharmaceutical tariffs, but did not provide details.
GSK CEO Emma Walmsley has been focusing on expanding newer products, including within the company’s infectious diseases portfolio, to offset declining sales from its top-selling drugs and vaccines as demand slows and competition increases.
GSK is also preparing for looming patent expirations in its HIV portfolio.
“(The momentum in the company’s portfolio), together with the strength of our portfolio and proven ability to drive operating leverage, underpin our confidence in guidance for the year and our longer-term outlooks,” Walmsley said.
GSK reported first-quarter turnover of 7.52 billion pounds ($10.07 billion) and core profit of 44.9 pence per share, narrowly ahead of analysts’ average expectation of 7.42 billion pounds and 40.9 pence per share, respectively, according to a company-compiled consensus.
In the same period last year, GSK reported turnover of 7.36 billion pounds and core profit of 43.1 pence per share.
However, sales at its vaccine unit were down 6% to 2.1 billion pounds, with its newer RSV vaccine Arexvy bringing in just 0.1 billion pounds, down 57%.
GSK initially had projected Arexvy to be a blockbuster product, estimating peak annual sales of 3 billion pounds, but sales have missed market expectations for the past several quarters.
In February, GSK lifted its long-term sales target to over 40 billion pounds by 2031, but uncertainties around pharmaceutical import tariffs and the Trump administration’s policies on vaccines and HIV prevention loom large on drugmakers in the near term.
For 2025, the company continues to expect turnover to grow 3-5% and core earnings per share to rise 6-8% at constant currency rates.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Elaine Hardcastle and Aidan Lewis)
