GSK on course to hit forecast after standard vaccine boost FT30 Oct 2020 08:02
The number of patients vaccinated for standard diseases is on the up
UK drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said it was back on track to meet its profit forecasts for the year after the number of patients being vaccinated for standard diseases had begun recovering to pre-pandemic levels.
The company, which is working with France’s Sanofi to develop a potential vaccine for Covid-19, had warned in July that it might not meet its full-year earnings targets after lockdowns prevented patients getting vaccines that the UK pharmaceutical group makes.
After initially rising following the release of the results, GSK shares were down 2.7 per cent in London trading. The stock has fallen 26 per cent so far this year.
Adam Barker, an analyst at Shore Capital, cautioned that a resurgence in Covid-19 infections that was gathering pace could dent vaccination rates this winter and drive shares in GSK lower.
Led by chief executive Emma Walmsley, GSK had forecast before the pandemic that its adjusted EPS would slide between 1 and 4 per cent for the full year.
Ms Walmsley told reporters yesterday that GSK was on track to deliver on its commitment of producing 1bn corona-virus vaccine doses by the end of 2021, with regulatory approvals expected in the first half of next year.
GSK remained committed to high standards in trials and regulatory submissions in a bid to underpin confidence in vaccine safety, she said.
“We certainly have red lines which we don’t cross,” she said. “The solution is continued transparency.”
The UK group is involved in research for a number of potential vaccines and therapeutics for coronavirus, having signed supply agreements with several countries for the vaccine it is developing with Sanofi.
With the UK locked in trade negotiations with Brussels over a trade deal with the EU — which Ms Walmsley said she was hopeful could be struck — the company was “prepared for all scenarios, including no deal”.
The group said it was on track on a planned break-up, with the aim of creating two new companies, one focused on biopharma and the other consumer health.
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