Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is "committed to rebuilding group sales" after a dismal year that almost halved net profit - and even knocked 'core' operating profit back by 6 per cent at constant currencies. The respiratory business is the main culprit. Launches of new products Anoro and Breo last year were dampened by US pricing pressures - the full impact of which has yet to play out, says Mr Witty.
However, sales of new HIV products Triumeq and Tivicay are storming ahead. An IPO of the ViiV Healthcare HIV division still looks likely, and word has it that Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been appointed as financial advisers to handle the float. Before that, shareholders will receive £4bn-worth of proceeds from the asset-swap transaction with Swiss group Novartis (NOVN).