GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) Q1 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending March 31, 2022

April 27, 2022 7:00 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Analyst Call for the GSK First Quarter 2022 Results. I will now hand you over to Nick Stone, Head of Global Investor Relations, who will introduce today's session.

Nick Stone - Head of Global Investor Relations

Thank you, operator. Hello, everyone. Welcome to our Q1 2022 conference call and webcast for investors and analysts. The presentation was posted to gsk.com, and it was also sent by e-mail to our distribution list earlier today.

Please turn to Slide 2. This is the usual Safe Harbor Statement, and we will be making comments on our performance using constant exchange rates, or CER, unless otherwise stated.

Please turn to Slide 3. This is today's agenda, where we will plan to cover all aspects of our Q1 2022 results. The presentation will last approximately 25 minutes with a 30 or 35 minutes for questions.

Today, our speakers are Emma Walmsley, Luke Miels, Deborah Waterhouse, Brian McNamara and Iain Mackay. The Q&A portion of the call will be joined by Hal Barron, Roger Connor and David Redfern.

And with that, I will now hand the call over to Emma. Please turn to Slide 4.

Emma Walmsley - CEO

Thanks, Nick, and hello to everyone joining today's call. Please turn to Slide 5. I'm very pleased to share our Q1 2022 results, which demonstrate a strong start to this landmark year for GSK. With double-digit sales growth, we are delivering on our financial commitments to a step change in performance.

In the first quarter, sales increased 32%, adjusted operating profit increased 39%, and adjusted EPS grew 43% to 32.8 pence per share. Sales growth was driven by excellent commercial execution and strong demand across the whole portfolio.

Biopharma sales increased 40%, 15% excluding Xevudy. And across the 3 Biopharma business areas, Specialty Medicines delivered 97% growth to £3.1 billion with strong double-digit growth across all areas particularly HIV. I was pleased to see Xevudy contribute to COVID-19 solutions at scale and excluding Xevudy, Specialty Medicines also grew 15%.

Vaccine sales increased 36% to £1.7 billion driven primarily by Shingrix, which delivered its best quarter yet, more than doubling sales as we continue our global launch program across several countries and patient demand returned.

General Medicines also grew 3%, reflecting strong growth from Trelegy. And Consumer Healthcare delivered 14% sales growth in the quarter, benefiting from strong growth across all categories, particularly respiratory health.