Revenue from GSK's blockbuster shingles vaccine, Shingrix, more than doubled in the second quarter, but GSK stock fell early Wednesday.
The former GlaxoSmithKline said Shingrix brought in 731 million pounds — roughly $880.6 million — in sales during the June quarter. GSK noted a resurgence in demand for the vaccine. Further, efforts to shift the singles vaccination season forward have paid off. There was also a build-up of inventory in the U.S. and high demand in Germany.
GSK also credited strength from its HIV and cancer treatments, which grew a respective 14% and 29%.
"The HIV franchise has performed strongly and Shingrix did not disappoint," UBS analyst Laura Sutcliffe said in a report to clients.
On today's stock market, GSK stock climbed 2.4% to close at 43.54.
GSK Stock: Excluding Covid Impact
For the June quarter, the drug giant reported roughly $8.35 billion in sales, based on today's exchange rate, and adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share. Both measures were easily ahead of Wall Street's call for $7.88 billion in sales and per-share earnings of 64 cents, according to FactSet.
Sales climbed 19% while earnings rose 23%, GSK said in its news release.
The best growth came from GSK's specialty medicines, which includes its HIV and oncology drugs. Sales in that division surged 44% to about $3.25 billion. That excludes a $600 million contribution from its Covid antibody Xevudy, developed with Vir Biotechnology.
In fact, GSK says the majority of Xevudy sales this year have already taken place.
"Based on known binding agreements with governments, we expect that sales of Covid-19 solutions will be substantially lower in the second half," GSK said.
Still, GSK raised its sales outlook and now expects 6%-8% growth this year, excluding the impact of Xevudy. It also expects adjusted profit to increase 1%. GSK stock analysts expected full-year earnings of $2.90 per share and $36.29 billion in sales.
UBS's Sutcliffe kept her neutral rating on GSK stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
