The largest multinational pharmaceutical company in Pakistan, GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan Limited (PSX: GLAXO) has had an amazing first quarter. For the three months ended 2017, the company’s top line grew by 37 percent year-on-year, while gross profit increased by 25 percent. Costs were significantly higher, eroding away at the gross and net margins. Nevertheless, the bottom-line was up by a healthy 18 percent over last year.

What’s interesting is that such rapid growth seems to be coming from the GSK’s core pharmaceutical business.

The consumer healthcare segment, which has in the past accounted for up to 20 percent of the company’s sales, has been spun off into a separate listed company – GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Pakistan Limited. That company also reported its first-ever quarterly results, with sales of Rs1,650 million and net profit of Rs147 million.

As per the company’s last annual report, GSK has seen a strong performance from its antibiotic, dermatology, respiratory, and analgesic portfolios.

The company’s selling, marketing, and distribution expenses were up by 13 percent year-on-year during the quarter, as it undertook a new marketing initiative called MCM (Multi-Channel Marketing) in 2016. This is also likely to have contributed to GSK’s growth.