GlaxoSmithKline Posts $510 Million Net Loss

GlaxoSmithKline PLC swung to a net loss in the fourth quarter of the year even as revenue increased, largely due to restructuring costs following its three-part transaction with Novartis AG.

The U.K.-based drugmaker said its loss attributable to shareholders was £ 354 million ($510 million) in the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared with a £ 1 billion profit a year earlier, while revenue climbed to £ 6.3 billion from £ 6.2 billion. Core net profit, which strips out some one-time items, fell 34% to £ 874 million. Analysts had expected revenue of £ 6.3 billion and core net profit of £ 903 million.

The decline in core net profit was largely down to Glaxo's shift to a higher-volume, lower-margin business following its $20 billion asset-swap deal with Novartis. In that deal, which closed in the first quarter of 2015, Glaxo traded its cancer drugs for the Swiss company's vaccines business. The pair also formed a joint venture for their consumer health care businesses which span over-the-counter drugs, such as painkiller Panadol, as well as non-pharmaceuticals like toothpaste.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 03, 2016 08:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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