29 April 2026
If you are covering Haleon’s latest financial results, please find below a comment from Chris Beckett, consumer staples analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
“We knew from competitors that the cold and flu season for consumer healthcare companies was a poor one, and this has resulted in a mixed update from Haleon today. Overall, the numbers were never going to be wonderful, with just over 2% sales growth marginally below what the market expected.
“The good news is that Haleon has a strong performing asset in Sensodyne toothpaste, which increased sales an impressive 10%+. The latest quarter also saw a return to growth in North America. While only at 1% growth it is nothing to shout about, but nevertheless it is a positive trend that will hopefully build throughout the year.
“The problem for Haleon is that it is only firing on two cylinders and its other categories aren’t doing as well as they could or should be doing. The long-term tailwinds around consumers increasingly self-medicating remain in place, but its brands should be doing better. Instead, the usual issues that trip up consumer companies are appearing, such as not executing on innovation as well as lacklustre marketing and promotion. If everything was sharper, it would add up to a much better growth figure and a more attractive narrative for investors. Haleon isn’t a million miles away from being a very good story, but it needs more than the toothpaste business to start performing.”
