Sensodyne maker Haleon has cut its growth forecast for the year, blaming weak consumer sentiment in the US.
The consumer healthcare company’s organic revenue grew 3% in the three months to 30 June, below the 3.3% expected by analysts.
It now expects annual organic revenue growth of 3.5%, down from a previous estimate of between 4% and 6%.
Its share price fell 3% in early trading following the announcement.
In North America, its falling sales accelerated to a drop of 1.8% as price hikes could not make up for declining volumes.
Haleon maintained it still performed ahead of the market, but CEO Brian McNamara cautioned: “the consumer environment in North America is likely to remain subdued.”
The group is performing better in emerging markets, which make up around a third of its revenue, delivering revenue growth of 6.4%, including high-single digit performance in India. By contrast, sales in developed markets grew just 1.4%.
Oral health remains its biggest and strongest division, with brands such as Sensodyne and Aquafresh boosting sales by 7.6% in the first half the year.
Pfizer sold its remaining stake in Haleon in March, three years after it spun out the consumer healthcare group.
Since becoming a public company, Haleon has overcome a number of challenges to leave its share price up over 10% since its IPO.
These included fears over its exposure to lawsuits against Zantac, an old GSK heartburn drug, significant debt brought over from its demerger, and lingering doubts over its growth targets.
It has a medium-term sales growth forecast of between 4% and 6%, which it has previously hit.
In January, the company appointed Jo Cooper as its new general manager for the UK & Ireland.
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