LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Improving margins in consumerhealth and growing demand for new drugs helped liftGlaxoSmithKline's underlying earnings abetter-than-expected 14 percent in the first quarter, keeping iton course to achieve a promised return to growth in 2016.
The British drugmaker, which is seeking a new chiefexecutive to replace Andrew Witty in 2017, said on Wednesdaythat demand for recently launched respiratory and HIV medicineshad offset falling sales of ageing lung treatment Advair.
Sales, in sterling terms, rose 11 percent to 6.23 billionpounds ($9.10 billion) in the three months to March, generatingcore earnings per share (EPS) of 19.8 pence.
Analysts, on average, had forecast sales of 6.01 billionpounds and core EPS, which excludes certain items, of 17.9p,according to Thomson Reuters.
GSK said it expected 10 to 12 percentage growth in 2016 coreEPS at constant currencies and confirmed that the dividend, oneof the stock's main attractions with a yield of nearly 6percent, would be held steady through 2017. ($1 = 0.6846 pounds) (Reporting by Ben Hirschler)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)
