LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline reportedbetter-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday, helped bystrong demand for HIV drugs and flu vaccines, which offset acontinued slide in sales of respiratory medicine.
Sales, in sterling terms, rose 9 percent to 6.13 billionpounds ($9.4 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30,generating core earnings per share (EPS) down 18 percent at 23.0pence.
Analysts on average had forecast sales of 6.08 billionpounds and core EPS, which excludes certain items, of 19.3p,according to Thomson Reuters.
($1 = 0.6543 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Martinne Geller)