(Reuters) – Drugmaker GSK reaffirmed its outlook for 2025 and said it was “well positioned” to mitigate any hit from potential sector-specific tariffs, after first quarter results beat expectations.
The company’s shares rose about 1.5% to 14.5 pounds by 0731 GMT.
Companies globally are scrambling to adapt to levies proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in his trade war, and Trump’s plans for a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports could threaten an interwoven global supply chain, and raise U.S. drug costs by $51 billion annually, a report found.
GSK said it had identified options within its supply chain and productivity initiatives to mitigate any hit from possible pharmaceutical tariffs, but did not give further details.
GSK CEO Emma Walmsley has been focusing on expanding newer products, including within the company’s infectious diseases portfolio, to offset declining sales from its top-selling drugs and vaccines as demand slows and competition increases.
She is also preparing GSK for looming patent expirations for its HIV treatments.
“(the momentum in the company’s portfolio), together with the strength of our portfolio and proven ability to drive operating leverage, underpin our confidence in guidance for the year and our longer-term outlooks,” Walmsley said in a statement.
GSK reported first-quarter turnover of 7.52 billion pounds ($10.07 billion) and core profit of 44.9 pence per share, narrowly ahead of analysts’ average expectation of 7.42 billion pounds and 40.9 pence per share, respectively, according to a company-compiled consensus.
However, sales at its vaccine unit were down 6% to 2.1 billion pounds, with its newer RSV vaccine Arexvy bringing in just 0.1 billion pounds, down 57%.
GSK initially had projected Arexvy to be a blockbuster product, estimating peak annual sales of 3 billion pounds, but sales have missed market expectations for the past several quarters.
In February, GSK lifted its long-term sales target to over 40 billion pounds by 2031, but uncertainties around pharmaceutical import tariffs and the Trump administration’s policies on vaccines and HIV prevention loom large on drugmakers in the near term.
For 2025, the company continues to expect turnover to grow 3-5% and core earnings per share to rise 6-8%.
($1 = 0.7468 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Elaine Hardcastle)
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