Consumer healthcare firm Haleon has lowered its annual sales targets after weaker demand for cold and flu medicine weighed on its third-quarter performance. Shares in the Panadol and Sensodyne owner fell in early trading, with the company also pointing to an impact from import changes in China.
Revenue growth and downgraded outlook
The FTSE 100 company reported revenues of £2.87 billion for the three months to September 30, up 2.5% compared with the same period last year. Haleon said it is on track to deliver sales growth of around 2.5% for 2026 as a whole, a downgrade from its earlier guidance of growth between 3% and 5%.
The company, which separated from drugs giant GSK in 2022, said its most recent sales growth was primarily driven by higher pricing, with sales volumes up 0.5%.
Regional performance and category highlights
Haleon said “soft” demand for cold and flu medicine resulted in lower orders in North America in the quarter. The region nevertheless saw 1.5% revenue growth, or 2.5% on an organic basis, amid stronger sales of Sensodyne and Centrum products.
However, sales in Europe fell by 0.9% to £798 million, which the group linked to “challenging” trading conditions, particularly in Germany and central and eastern Europe. Toothpaste products continued to support growth, with Haleon’s oral health category reporting 8.8% organic growth for the quarter.
CEO comments and next steps
Brian McNamara, Haleon chief executive, said: “Our third-quarter organic revenue growth of 2.6% was below our expectations as we navigated softness across some of our categories including weaker cough, cold and flu consumption.”
“We delivered strong performances in oral health and our turnaround plan in North America continues to make progress,” he added. “We are clear on where we need to improve and we are taking action to deliver stronger performance despite challenging markets.”
