GSK today increased its 2031 sales outlook to more than £40 billion, up from £38 billion amid stronger progress in its late-stage drugs pipeline. Total 2024 sales in GSK’s annual results published today were £31.4 billion, a rise of 3%. This improves to 7% at constant exchange rates. Core operating profit rose 11% without currency fluctuations, although the total fell 40% to £4 billion when including a one-off charge of £1.8 billion relating to the settlement of Zantac litigation.
GSK sees 2025 turnover growth at constant exchange rates of between 3% to 5%, with core operating profit growth of between 6% to 8%. It declared a dividend of 16p for the fourth quarter and expects to increase the total for 2025 to 64p a share from 61p last year. A £2 billion share buyback programme is set to be implemented over the next 18 months. Chief executive Emma Walmsley said: "GSK delivered another year of excellent performance in 2024, with strong sales and core profit growth driven by accelerating momentum of our specialty medicines portfolio.
“This, together with outstanding phase III pipeline progress, means we expect another year of profitable growth in 2025, and have further improved our long-term outlook, with sales of more than £40 billion now expected by 2031. “In particular, we are increasing and prioritising R&D investment to promising new long-acting and specialty medicines in Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation, Oncology and HIV.”.
US markets posted a stronger session last night as tech stocks including Apple rose despite fears over the impact of a US-China trade war. The Nasdaq Composite recovered the previous session’s losses by lifting 1.4%, while the S&P 500 added 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%. The Shanghai Composite is 0.7% lower after China markets reopened following the Lunar New Year holiday. The Hang Seng index has dropped 1.2%.
