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(Alliance News) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC will cut up to 720 senior roles in its Vaccine division in Belgium, AFP reported on Wednesday.
The company will also not renew up to 215 temporary contract in the division, AFP noted.
Glaxo is the biggest private employer in Belgium's French-speaking region, with 9,000 staff in three production plants and its vaccine operations centre.
Also on Wednesday, the company said its profit rose significantly in 2019 with particularly strong improvements from its Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare segments, the latter benefiting from a new joint venture.
Shares in Glaxo were down 2.5% at 1,770.00 pence in London on Wednesday afternoon.
The FTSE 100-listed pharmaceutical major, which has its head office in Brentford, Middlesex, posted a GBP6.22 billion pretax profit for 2019, a 30% rise from 2018's figure of GBP4.80 billion. This was behind company-compiled consensus of GBP8.47 billion.
Revenue was GBP33.75 billion, up 9.5% from GBP30.82 billion in 2018 and just below consensus of GBP33.86 billion. This higher year-on year improvement was strongest in Vaccines, where revenue rose 22% to GBP7.16 billion from GBP5.89 billion, driven by sales of its Shingrix shingles vaccine.
Consumer Healthcare revenue was also up a notable 17% at GBP9.00 billion from GBP7.66 billion, thanks to the formation of Glaxo's Consumer Healthcare joint venture with Pfizer Inc in August 2019. Pfizer received a 32% equity stake in the joint venture, with Glaxo holding the rest. Within three years of the joint venture's creation, Glaxo will separate it via a demerger and separate listing in the London.
A new programme has commenced to prepare for this separation into "New GSK, a biopharma company with an R&D approach focused on science related to the immune system, use of genetics and new technologies; and a new leader in Consumer Healthcare," Glaxo said.
A dividend of 23p was declared for the final quarter, taking the total for the year to 80p, flat from 2018. In 2020, Glaxo again expects to pay an 80p per share dividend.
In 2019, Glaxo's adjusted earnings per share totalled 123.9p, rising 3.8% from 119.4p in 2018, a 1% rise at constant currency. Adjusted figures exclude intangible amortisation, intangible impairment, major restructuring, and other costs.
Glaxo had been expecting 2019 adjusted earnings per share to be flat at CER, having previously forecast a decline at CER of between 3% and 5% previously. In 2020, adjusted EPS is predicted to drop by between 1% and 4% CER.
Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said: "In 2020, our first priority remains Innovation, to progress our pipeline and support new product launches. Recent data readouts underpin our decision to further increase investment in [research and development] and these new products. At the same time, we are again focused on operational execution, including delivering a successful integration in Consumer Healthcare, and we are also preparing for the future, starting a new two-year programme to get [GlaxoSmithKline] ready for separation.
"All of this aims to support future growth, deliver significant value creation, and set up two new leading companies in biopharma and consumer healthcare, each with the opportunity to improve the health of hundreds of millions of people."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com;
Updated by Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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