Sales & Earnings In Brief

GlaxoSmithKline Inc.’s consumer health care sales grew 5% in 2011 but would have grown 7% without the impact of non-core brands it has since sold to Prestige Brands Holdings Inc., the U.K. firm says Feb. 7. Strong growth in OTCs including Panadol pain relievers and Tums gastrointestinal care were offset by the long-struggling alli weight-loss drug. Oral health care grew 8% on strong sales of Sensodyne and nutritional health care grew 10%, led by Horlicks and the addition of Maxinutrition, which GSK acquired in February 2011 Also see "Glaxo Beefs Up Nutritionals Business With Maxinutrition Buy" - Pink Sheet, 20 December, 2010.. Total sales for the year were £5.2 billion ($8.3 billion on same-day exchange rates) with a 1% drop in the U.S., 2% drop in Europe and 14% gain in the rest of the world. OTC sales in the fourth quarter were down 2% to $994 million on a mild flu season and “temporary supply interruption” of smoking cessation products in the U.S., Glaxo said in its earnings release. The sale of 15 non-core OTC brands to Prestige closed Jan. 31 Also see "Prestige Acquires 17 Glaxo OTC Brands, Enters Analgesics Market" - Pink Sheet, 2 January, 2012..