GSK shares slump as vaccine sales stagnate

Shares in UK pharma major GSK (LSE: GSK) were 2% lower in London’s early afternoon trading on Wednesday, as it posted second-quarter 20224 financial results.

GSK’s overall sales grew by 10% to £7.88 billion ($10.12 billion) while core operating profit rose 16% year-on-year to £2.5 billion. The company was ahead of analysts’ expectations on both measures.

While sales in the Specialty Medicines and General Medicines businesses recorded healthy rises, they barely rose in the Vaccines division, with GSK reporting lower-than-expected sales of its new respiratory syncytial virus jab, owing to the seasonal nature of the cold-like virus.