- The healthcare giant reveals that its turnover increased by 4.1% last year
- Haleon saw much higher demand for its oral and respiratory health products
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Haleon’s revenue growth slowed last year as currency headwinds and lower demand for a popular dietary supplement dented momentum.
The consumer healthcare giant, whose brands include painkillers Advil and Panadol, revealed that turnover rose 4.1 per cent to £11.3bn in 2023, compared with 13.8 per cent in the last year.
While the company’s organic revenue rose 8 per cent, it took a £416 million hit due to adverse currency movements, mainly due to the appreciation of sterling against emerging market currencies such as the Argentine peso and the Chinese renminbi.
Pain relief: Consumer healthcare giant’s brands include pain relievers Advil and Panadol
Operations were further impacted by lower Emergen-C sales, particularly in North America, which the company attributed to easing coronavirus concerns.
But operating profits still rose 9.4 per cent to £2bn, while net debt fell by more than £1.3bn to £8.5bn.
Haleon also announced an increase in its dividend payments to 35 per cent of cash on hand, along with £500m share buyback plans this year.
haleon stock jumped 7.15 per cent to 336.25 pence in early trading as the FTSE 100 group’s organic revenue expanded across all regions and categories.
Respiratory health products saw the highest percentage growth in turnover following a strong cold and flu season and increased demand for Contac in China following the end of Covid-related lockdown restrictions.
Haleon also saw much stronger orders for its oral health products, such as Polident denture cleaner and toothpaste brands Sensodyne and Parodontax.
Haleon CEO Brian McNamara said he was “very pleased” with the results, although he cautioned that the firm expects “the operating environment to remain challenging.”
For the current year, the group expects organic revenue to increase by a further 4 to 6 percent, with sales partially diluted by sales of Chapstick and Lamisil.
Haleon sold Lamisil, an athlete’s foot treatment brand, for £235m last October to Karo Healthcare and agreed last month to sell lip balm business Chapstick to private equity house Yellow Wood Partners for $430m.
The two deals were part of Haleon’s efforts to simplify its portfolio and reduce net debts, which fell by more than £2bn in the first 18 months after its demerger.
Haleon was spun off by GSK in July 2022, shortly after the pharmaceutical company rejected a £50bn takeover offer from Unilever, owner of Hellman’s Mayonnaise.
GSK retained a 12.9 per cent stake in Haleon after the demerger, but has gradually reduced it to just 4.2 per cent, having sold a stake for £978 million last month.