GSK profit misses as Shingrix disappoints, stockpiling eases

(Reuters) – Britain’s GSK fell short of quarterly expectations for profit on Wednesday, as sales of the drugmaker’s blockbuster shingles vaccine fell and stockpiling of pain and lung medication tapered as countries eased lockdowns.

Turnover fell 3% to 7.62 billion pounds in the three months ended June 30 on a constant currency basis, while adjusted earnings stood at 19.2 pence per share, the company said. GSK maintained its 2020 forecast.

Fourteen analysts on average expected second-quarter adjusted earnings of 20.1 pence per share and sales of 7.72 billion pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/analyst-consensus/analyst-consensus.

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt; Editing by Bernard Orr)