Pharmaceutical giant GSK has reported strong profits for 2025, driven by HIV and asthma treatments, but warned that growth will slow this year. The company posted a turnover of £32.7 billion, up 4%, marking the first full-year results under new chief executive Luke Miels who took over from Emma Walmsley at the turn of the year.
Core operating profits rose 7% over the past year, accelerating to 14% in the latest quarter. Speciality medicines sales reached £13.5 billion, up 17%, with respiratory, immunology and inflammation treatments growing 18% and HIV medications up 11%. The final quarter of 2025 saw growth of 6%.
GSK announced plans to cut up to around 350 research and development jobs across the US and UK as part of an ongoing overhaul of its R&D division. Around 50 UK roles in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, have been affected so far. The final number of impacted positions will be confirmed in coming months.
Weight-loss drug market
Miels confirmed GSK has no plans to enter the booming weight-loss drug sector, despite competitor AstraZeneca recently partnering with a Chinese drugs firm to grow its obesity drug pipeline. «On GLP-1 medication, it's going to be very crowded,» he told investors. «Medically, it is a really fascinating area, but strategically for us our focus is more on the downstream effects of obesity rather than GLP-1 products.»
The chief executive hailed «strong» trading and said the company is «well placed to move forward in this next phase». He expects 2026 to be a «key year of execution and operational delivery with strong focus on commercial launches and accelerating R&D», but forecast core operating profit growth of just 7% to 9% for the year ahead.
Sheena Berry, healthcare analyst at Quilter Cheviot, described the results as a «solid end to 2025» and Miels' leadership as a «steady and credible start». She said: «While growth moderates slightly in guidance, the combination of vaccine leadership, strength in HIV and a clear long-term target should provide investors with reassurance that GSK remains on a sustainable growth trajectory.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
