BUSINESS LIVE: GSK strengthened by RSV vaccine; H&M boss leaves; Hercules launches construction academy

Head of markets at Interactive Investor Richard Hunter:

‘GSK has reminded us that it remains a serious player on the global stage, with successful product launches followed by a strong pipeline of potential new medicines.

‘The long-term potential of the sector is not in question, as developments towards personalized medicine and the growing middle class in emerging markets offer opportunities for endless demand.

Meanwhile, the move away from the ‘white pills and Western markets’ model, a phrase coined by Glaxo several years ago, is translating into a more specialized business, confirmed by the spin-off of its consumer healthcare unit Haleon in 2022.

Highlights of the year included the launch of the Arexvy vaccine, which fights Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in adults over 60, with the company currently seeking to lower the age limit to 50.

‘The vaccine was launched in the US last autumn and is already estimated to have a two-thirds market share, with sales of over £1.2 billion to date.

‘Meanwhile, continued strong uptake of the shingles vaccine Shingrix across its European and international operations resulted in sales of £3.4 billion.’

Morrisons is selling its 337 petrol stations to private equity stablemate Motor Fuel Group (MFG) in a £2.5 billion deal.

As part of the partnership, MFG will acquire more than 400 locations of the supermarket that will offer ultra-fast chargers for electric vehicles.

The International Monetary Fund should have learned lessons by now. As the overseer of the global economy, the country has no mandate to poke its nose into Britain’s domestic politics.

French chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas couldn’t resist, telling the media that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ‘should try to rebuild fiscal buffers’ rather than implementing further tax cuts of more than £20 billion in the autumn statement .

Strong lending income in Europe and Brazil allowed Santander to offset a loss in Argentina and post a record profit for the final quarter of 2023, beating expectations.

Net profit for the quarter rose 28 percent year-on-year to 2.93 billion euros, above analysts’ expectations of 2.64 billion euros, thanks to a 34 percent increase in net profit in Europe.

For the whole of 2023, net profit rose by 15 percent to a record 11.08 billion euros, while turnover rose by 10.5 percent.

The higher profits have ensured that Santander’s return-on-tangible equity ratio (RoTE), a measure of profitability, rose from 13.37 percent in 2022 to 15.06 percent at the end of 2023, meeting the final target of more than 15 percent was achieved. .

“Our progress in executing our strategy, combined with the strength and diversification of our model, will enable us to continue to grow while further improving profitability, with a target of 16 percent RoTE by 2024,” said Chairman Ana Botin.

H&M boss Helena Helmersson has decided to resign and leave the group after the Swedish retail giant posted disappointing quarterly profits.

The company told investors this morning that it has appointed Daniel Erver as its new CEO, effective immediately.

Helmersson said she had decided to step down, saying the role was very personally demanding.

It posted a fourth-quarter operating profit of 4.33 billion crowns, up from 821 million a year earlier, but lower than the 4.57 billion expected by analysts.

KPMG partners received an average of £746,000 per person last year, despite a slowdown in growth at the professional services firm.

Payouts for the 833 UK partners rose by 4 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September 2023, up from £717,000 a year earlier.

In the same period, the accounting giant’s turnover rose 9 percent to £2.96 billion – a slowdown from 16 percent growth the year before.

GSK’s profits beat market expectations in the fourth quarter as the drugmaker got a boost from the launch of its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine Arexvy.

The FTSE 100 company, which also saw sales rise on steady demand for its shingles and HIV drugs, reported profits of 28.9p per share on sales of £8.05bn, compared with a forecast profit of 28.63p on turnover of £7.29bn.

‘GSK has delivered an excellent performance in 2023, with clear highlights being the exceptional launch of Arexvy and continued progress in our pipeline.

‘We are now planning at least twelve major launches from 2025, with new vaccines and specialty medicines for infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory and oncology.

“As a result of this progress and momentum, we expect to deliver another year of meaningful revenue and earnings growth in 2024, and we are increasing our growth outlook for 2026 and 2031. We remain focused on realizing this potential – and more – to and change the course of disease for millions of people.’