Wednesday started out with good news for two life science giants with a major presence in the Triangle.

Boosted by sales of its shingles vaccine, GSK earnings topped expectations from analysts.

Sales of Shingrix were $466 million in the first quarter, up 61.5 percent from the previous quarter. Reuters notes that sales had doubled in the fourth quarter.

To meet demand, GSK recently announced plans to invest $100 million for expansion of a production plant in Montana.

GSK said revenues rose to $10 billion in its most recent quarter, up some $570 million from a year earlier and higher than estimates.’

Earnings came in at 42 cents a share vs. expectations of  34 cents.

GSK to invest $100M in plant where shingles vaccine components made

“We have made a strong start to 2019, which is an important year of execution for GSK, with growth in sales, operating margins and earnings per share in Q1, in line with our expectations,” said GSK CEO Emma Walmsley ina statement.

“Strengthening our pipeline remains our number one priority and we reported positive data for several potential new medicines in HIV and Oncology during the quarter.  I am also pleased to report that integration planning for our new proposed Consumer Healthcare business is going well and, subject to relevant approvals, we continue to expect to complete this transaction in the second half of the year. We look forward to building on the progress made this quarter.”

IQVIA earnings

And IQVIA posted its own good news.

IQVI  reported first-quarter net income of $58 million.

On a per-share basis, the life sciences company said it had profit of 29 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.53 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.51 per share.

The clinical testing company posted revenue of $2.68 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.66 billion.

IQVIA expects full-year earnings in the range of $6.20 to $6.40 per share, with revenue in the range of $10.9 billion to $11.13 billion.

IQVIA shares have risen 20% since the beginning of the year. The stock has increased 45% in the last 12 months.