British pharmaceutical group GSK on Wednesday reported a fall in annual profit in 2024 after settling hefty lawsuits, but upgraded its outlook as cancer drug sales boomed.
Profit after tax dropped to £2.6 billion ($3.3 billion) last year compared with a net profit of £4.9 billion in 2023, as it settled lawsuits in the United States over its Zantac heartburn drug.
However, turnover increased three percent to £31.4 billion, boosted by the success of its speciality medicines, including HIV and cancer drugs.
That sparked an upgrade to its long-term sales forecast, which the group now expects to reach more than £40 billion by 2031.
Shares in the company jumped nearly six percent on London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index, which was trading flat overall.
GSK at the end of last year agreed to pay $2.3 billion to end lawsuits alleging that Zantac caused cancer, despite the group not admitting liability.
“GSK delivered another year of excellent performance in 2024… driven by accelerating momentum of our speciality medicines portfolio,” said chief executive Emma Walmsley in the earnings statement.
She added that the company will be increasing investment in “respiratory, immunology and inflammation, oncology and HIV” medicines.
“We expect another year of profitable growth in 2025, and have further improved our long-term outlook,” she added.