Pharma giant GSK grows earnings with new Covid-19 treatment

GSK rejected Unilever's £50bn bid for its consumer unit in December

GSK has ploughed on with its Haleon spin off, even though many companies have delayed or abandoned listing plans amid market jitters over the Ukraine crisis.

British pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) beat analyst expectations for its first-quarter results and stood by its 2022 forecasts, after buoyant sales of its Covid-19 treatment which has now been withdrawn from the US market.

The earnings beat, with lifted GSK's shares more than 1% in early trade, comes ahead of the July listing of its consumer healthcare venture with Pfizer, christened Haleon, which has put GSK's future in focus.