A drop-off in demand for cold & flu medication has held back growth at consumer health group Haleon.
Organic revenue growth came in lower than expectations for 2025 at 3%, with the performance also affected by depressed consumer confidence in North America, where volumes declined 1.4%.
Group revenues as a whole at the Panadol, Theraflu and Sensodyne maker fell 1.8% to £11bn for the year after taking into account currency translations and the performance in North America.
Haleon’s oral health products performed well during the year, registering organic growth of 7.9%, well ahead of the rest of the group’s product categories, with vitamins, minerals and supplements up 1.9%, pain relief up 2.3%, digestive health up 0.5% and respiratory health down by 1.9%.
Adjusted operating profits jumped 10.5% to £2.5bn on the back of productivity initiatives and price hikes.
“2025 was an important year for Haleon,” said CEO Brian McNamara. “We introduced our ‘Win as One’ strategy and are already making good progress.
“Our brands again proved their resilience, and we continued to outperform the market, with 60% of the business gaining or maintaining share this year.
“Organic revenue growth of 3% was below our medium-term expectations, primarily reflecting a weak cold & flu season and low consumer confidence in North America. We delivered strong gross margin improvement and double-digit organic profit growth, combined with strong cash generation. This was driven by excellent progress against our productivity programme and continued disciplined investment behind our brands, innovation and capabilities.”
Haleon forecast organic growth of 3%-5% for 2026 (which is below its medium-term guidance for 4%-6%), with single-digit growth in adjusted operating profits.
“Looking ahead, we remain confident in our medium-term guidance underpinned by the implementation of our new operating model to drive growth and agility,” McNamara added.
“While the consumer environment remains challenging near-term, we are even more focused on driving category growth and increasing our market outperformance.”
No comments yet