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* GSK now sees rise in FY pharmaceutical sales
* Vaccines sales hit by surge in Delta variant
* Consumer health split on track
* GSK shares hit 7-week highs
(Adds details)
By Pushkala Aripaka
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Britain's GSK delivered
better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its annual
profit outlook, lifting its shares on Wednesday after strong
sales of key drugs and cost cutting ahead of a planned split
next year.
GSK now expects 2021 adjusted earnings per share to decline
by between 2% and 4% at constant exchange rates, excluding any
boost from its COVID-19 offerings. It had previously expected
profit to fall by mid-to-high single digit percentages.
The results and outlook sent GSK's London-listed shares up
2.1% in early afternoon trade, after hitting seven-week highs.
The improved outlook rests on expected pharmaceuticals sales
growth, despite a forecast for lower vaccine sales as a surge in
the more-infectious coronavirus Delta variant delayed an
expected recovery, including its key shingles vaccine, Shingrix.
"As people didn’t want to go out and leave their houses and
(health systems) were really prioritising mass scale
vaccination, that was the main hit. These are deferred and not
lost sales for sure and it's good to see us firmly on the
recovery track," GSK CEO Emma Walmsley said on a results call.
Turnover at the world's biggest vaccine maker by sales rose
5% to 9.07 billion pounds ($12.5 billion) for the three months
to Sept. 30, while adjusted earnings were up 3% to 36.6 pence
per share.
Analysts had expected third-quarter earnings of 29.4 pence
per share on sales of 8.73 billion pounds, a company-compiled
consensus https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/analyst-consensus/analyst-consensus
showed.
GSK said it was sticking with its plan to spin off consumer
health in 2022, after a report the business could attract bids
from private equity firms.
Activist investors Elliott and Bluebell have called for a
sale of the unit, among other proposals for "New GSK", including
leadership changes.
"We also continue to make excellent progress towards
unlocking the value of Consumer Healthcare through a successful
demerger in mid-2022," Walmsley said in Wednesday's statement.
A new chair of the consumer healthcare business is expected
to be announced before the end of the year, GSK said.
($1 = 0.7272 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger
in Frankfurt; writing by Josephine Mason; Editing by Jason Neely
and Alexander Smith)
