UK: GSK earnings miss estimates

GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK), the UK’s biggest drug company, reported first-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates and said it would reduce a special dividend to £1 billion (R18bn) from £4bn. Profit excluding certain items slipped to 17.3 pence a share, from 21p a year earlier, the company said yesterday. Analysts expected 17.8p a share, the average of 11 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Glaxo had promised to return £4bn realised from a deal with Novartis to shareholders. – Bloomberg