GSK GSK plc

By Cecilia Butini

GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Wednesday that net profit dropped in the second quarter compared with the previous year, though sales grew on-year and it backed its outlook for the full year.

The British pharmaceutical major posted net profit of 1.40 billion pounds ($1.94 billion) for the period, down from GBP2.26 billion the year prior. Adjusted earnings per share were 28.1 pence, compared with 19.2 pence in the same period a year earlier.

Sales came in at GBP8.09 billion, up from GBP7.62 billion in the second quarter of 2020, when both pharmaceuticals and vaccine sales were affected by the pandemic.

The company backed a previously given outlook for 2021, saying that it expects adjusted EPS to decline by mid-to-high single-digit percentage at constant exchange rates. Looking at 2022, it said it expects meaningful improvements in revenues and margins.

GlaxoSmithKline declared a dividend of 19 pence a share for the second quarter, adding that it continues to expect a dividend of 80 pence a share for the full year 2021.

Write to Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2021 07:39 ET (11:39 GMT)

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