Glaxo beats forecasts with 14% profits fall

Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline today reported a 14% slide in third quarter profits and said it was losing close to £3bn (€3.81bn) in annual sales as competition from cheaper generic rivals heats up.

The group posted underlying pre-tax profits of £1.88bn (€2.38bn) for the three months to the end of September, excluding restructuring costs, although the results were better than markets had been expecting.