º£½ÇÊÓƵ

Pharmaceutical titan GSK has raised its 2031 sales forecast to over £40bn, an increase from the previously projected £38bn, following a stronger-than-anticipated performance in the fourth quarter.

The London-listed pharmaceutical behemoth disclosed core earnings per share of 23.2p for the quarter, which, despite being a roughly 20% decline year-on-year, exceeded the analysts' expectations of 19p, as reported by .

For the entire year of 2024, GSK reported core earnings per share of 159.3p, marking a 10% rise at constant exchange rates. Turnover climbed by seven percent at constant exchange rates to £31.4bn, or by eight percent when excluding sales related to the Covid pandemic.

The company declared a dividend of 16p per share for the fourth quarter, culminating in a total annual dividend of 61p. It anticipates a dividend payout of 64p in 2025.

Additionally, GSK revealed plans to return £2bn to shareholders through a share buyback programme over the next 18 months.

GSK’s forward sales projections

Looking ahead to the forthcoming year, GSK forecasts turnover growth of three to five percent in 2025, alongside a core operating profit increase of six to eight percent.

"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," stated Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer, in a release.

"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 £40bn now expected by 2031."