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* Sotrovimab sales top estimates, but margins set to drop
* Consumer healthcare spin off on track
* Quarterly results beat forecasts, 2022 sales to grow
(Adds analyst comment, details on consumer arm)
By Pushkala Aripaka and Ludwig Burger
Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain's GSK forecast growth in
2022 after racking up 1.4 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) in
COVID-related sales in 2021, beating quarterly forecasts in its
first earnings report since rejecting Unilever's bid
for its consumer arm.
The results underscore a comeback for GSK in the race to
help fight the COVID-19 pandemic after it failed to bring a
vaccine to the market so far. The spin off of the consumer
venture with Pfizer has also put the future in focus as
boss Emma Walmsley faces pressure from activist investors.
"We have ended the year strongly, with another quarter of
excellent performance ... and we enter 2022 with good momentum,"
Walmsley said. "This is going to be a landmark year for GSK."
The drugmaker is pressing on with the spin off of its
consumer arm, home to brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and
Advil painkiller, after turning down Unilever's 50 billion pound
buyout offer for the unit in December.
Some activist investors had called on GSK to give more
consideration to a potential sale of the unit. They have also
questioned the ability of top management to boost the success
rate of drug development, where GSK has long lagged peers.
The company said sales in 2022, after the consumer unit
spin-off, were expected to grow 5% to 7% and adjusted operating
profit was forecast to rise 12% to 14%. This includes the boost
from a settlement with Gilead but not sales of its
COVID-19 products.
Analysts had forecast group earnings of 120.8 pence per
share, or a rise of about 8% from 2021, on sales of 36.28
billion pounds.
The company said it expected pandemic-related sales in 2022
to be at similar levels to 2021 but said these would contribute
less to profit at "New GSK" due to lower margins on its antibody
treatment, knocking off profit by 5% to 7%.
GSK shares were up 0.2% at 0845 GMT.
PANDEMIC AND BEYOND
Excluding the Gilead deal, which secured royalty payments
from an HIV drug, from the 2022 outlook "suggests a modest trim
to consensus underlying operating profit, albeit management's
guidance at the beginning of the year is likely to include a
degree of conservatism," Morgan Stanley analysts said.
GSK's sotrovimab, developed with Vir Biotechnology,
is one of the few COVID-19 treatments shown to have worked
against the fast-spreading Omicron variant, spurring demand. It
was amongst GSK's top selling offerings in 2021.
GSK has secured orders for 1.7 million doses of sotrovimab,
including from the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Sales of sotrovimab, branded Xevudy, stood at 828 million
pounds in the fourth quarter, up from 114 million in the third
quarter and above market expectations of 774 million pounds.
Revenue from shingles vaccine Shingrix, a key earnings
driver over past quarters, slipped 7% to 597 million pounds but
still surpassed consensus of 548 million pounds.
Adjusted earnings for the group stood at 25.6 pence per
share for the three months to Dec. 31, while turnover rose 13%
to 9.53 billion pounds at constant currency rates, topping a
consensus https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/analyst-consensus/analyst-consensus
of 23.8 pence apiece on sales of 9.49 billion pounds.
GSK said it expected key trial results in 2022 on up to
seven future growth drivers including a long awaited read-out on
a vaccine for the elderly against the common respiratory
syncytial virus before the end of June.
Walmseley told a media call the consumer arm's performance
this year was expected to be in line with the previously stated
medium-term target for annual currency-adjusted sales growth of
4% to 6%. GSK will unveil more details at a Feb. 28 investor
event.
($1 = 0.7378 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger
in Frankfurt; Editing by Mark Potter and Edmund Blair)
