Pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s (LON:GSK) chief executive Andrew Witty said its recovery was gather momentum as first quarter profits exceeded market forecasts.
Excluding the gain on an asset swap with Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis last year, core net income increased 15% to £959mln, up from £824mln a year ago, while revenue rose 11% to £6.2bn.
Analysts had anticipated core net income of £894mln and revenue of £6bn.
Sales of its new products were more than double last year at £821mln and new pharmaceuticals product sales represented 20% of total sales, up 5%.
The weakness of the pound against the dollar also boosted GSK’s results, with core earnings per share increase of 14% to 19.8p.
“This puts us on the right track to achieve the expectations we set out last year, although inevitably, we expect some quarter-to-quarter volatility in reported progress, particularly in our margins, given the dynamics of our businesses,” said chief executive officer Sir Andrew Witty, who is steppng down next year.
A successor has yet to be announced.
For 2016, Glaxo said core earnings per share should grow by 10-12% up slightly from its previous guidance.
“We believe the group is well placed to maximise the opportunities, and respond to the competitive pressures and challenging pricing dynamics, that we see in the global healthcare environment,” added Witty.
GSK also announced it planned to pay a full-year dividend of 80p, with 19p for the first quarter.
Shares were up 2.5% to 1,495.34p