Haleon makes 'solid start' to FY24

Consumer healthcare company Haleon said on Wednesday that it had made a "solid start to the year", posting better-than-expected Q1 profits despite seeing a fall in revenues.

Haleon said organic revenues were up 3.0% year-on-year, with sales volumes and product mix down 2% to somewhat offset 5% price growth. Reported revenues declined 2.2% to £2.9bn, in line with the estimates, with negative impacts of 4.6% from foreign exchange impacts and 0.6% from its disposal of Lamisil.

The FTSE 100-listed group delivered adjusted operating profits of £707.0m, up 2.3% year-on-year, better than consensus.

For the full year, Haleon noted that organic revenue growth was still expected to be in the range of 4-6%.

Chief executive Brian McNamara said: "First quarter trading was solid and in line with guidance shared when we reported FY 2023 results. Organic revenue growth of 3.0% was impacted by lapping tough comparatives in the prior year particularly in Respiratory Health and Pain Relief. Despite this, strong innovation combined with successful execution of our go-to-market strategy underpinned performance in our Power Brands which grew 5.2% with particularly strong performance in our Oral Health and VMS portfolio.

"Looking ahead, we continue to expect the operating environment to remain challenging. However, we are confident that we are well positioned to deliver on both guidance for 2024 and over the medium term."

As of 0900 BST, Haleon shares were down 1.56% at 334.20p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com