By Miranda Wadham – 28/7/15

As GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) prepare to announce their second quarter results on Wednesday, here’s what we can expect to hear according to Dow Jones Newswires analysts.

Analysts are expecting Glaxo’s core net profit attributable to shareholders of 803 million pounds ($1.25 billion), 13% lower than the GBP921 million reported a year earlier.

There are expectations that sales will be £5.85 billion, a 5.3% increase on the £5.56 billion in the second quarter of 2015.

Back in March, Glaxo completed a $20 billion asset swap with Novartis (NYSE:NVS), with Glaxo swapping its high-margin oncology business for the Swiss company’s lower-margin vaccines franchise. This is the first full quarter for “new” Glaxo and analysts expect core earnings per share to drop by 14% to 16.5 pence.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect revenue from ViiV Healthcare, the HIV business majority-owned by Glaxo, to be 47% higher at £518 million, compared with the £352 million reported in the same quarter last year.

After the previous quarter’s results, Chief Executive Andrew Witty said he would pursue a “contrarian” strategy of chasing growth in emerging markets rather than high-margin sales in the traditionally dominant U.S. and Western European markets. Investors will be interested to hear how this plan is affecting the company’s performance.

 

miranda@ukinvestormagazine.co.uk