UK's Haleon cuts revenue growth forecast on weak North America demand
Weak consumer confidence and competition from rivals in the United States, Haleon's biggest market, have hurt uptake of its seasonal and discretionary products, even as demand for oral health products was robust for the Sensodyne toothpaste maker.
CEO Brian McNamara told Reuters that the market for smokers' health products was one area where consumers were opting for lower-priced options, but that was not something Haleon was seeing across other discretionary products.
Haleon's smokers' health business, which sells nicotine replacement products, saw a double-digit drop in first-half revenue, with headwinds expected to persist through the year.
McNamara added that seasonal trends around cold and flu had become more unpredictable post-COVID, with variations in demand more "drastic than ever before".
While a stronger flu season in the U.S. helped sales of respiratory products like Theraflu and Robitussin, a weaker allergy season hit sales of Flonase, the company said.
Haleon expects organic revenue growth - which strips out currency moves and recent deals - of about 3.5% for the year ending December. It had previously expected growth of 4% to 6%.
"This is not a good update. The organic sales growth guide cut is more extreme than feared," Jefferies analysts said.
Haleon's shares were down 1.1% at 360 pence at 0930 GMT, having earlier hit a one-year low of 346.1 pence.
The company expects stronger organic revenue growth in the second half of 2025, led by performance in other regions, but said demand in North America was "likely to remain subdued".
The company, spun off from GSK in 2022, reported revenue growth of 3.2% for the six months ended June 30, below the 3.4% expected by analysts in a company-compiled poll.
Adjusted operating profit came in at 1.24 billion pounds ($1.64 billion), compared with expectations for 1.22 billion pounds, primarily helped by price increases and cost cuts.
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