Haleon Share Price Fell 4.54% As Q3 Sales Rose, but Profits Fell

The HALEON PLC (LON: HLN) share price fell 4.54% after releasing its Q3 trading update for the three months ended 30 September 2023. The company reported a significant 5% organic revenue growth, underlining the strength and diversity of its product portfolio.

The revenue growth was primarily driven by a remarkable 6.6% price increase, offset by a volume/mix decline of 1.6%. However, the reported revenue showed a decline of 3.3%.

Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, the company demonstrated an 8.5% organic revenue growth, mainly attributed to a 7.2% price increase and a positive volume/mix effect of 1.3%. The reported revenue for this period showed a healthy 5.6% growth.

The company's Power Brands segment delivered a strong performance, with a 9.3% organic revenue growth in the third quarter and a cumulative 9.8% growth over the nine months.

The volume/mix decline in the third quarter was primarily the result of lower volume in North America within the Digestive Health and Other segments. One-off retailer inventory adjustments and the expected decline in Emergen-C sales influenced this. Excluding these factors, the volume/mix would have remained stable.

Oral Health exhibited high single-digit growth. The Respiratory segment reflected a typical seasonal pattern. Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements (VMS) experienced a slight increase, driven by robust growth in the Centrum product line.

In the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and LatAm (Latin America) regions, organic revenue showed robust growth at 10.8%. The APAC (Asia-Pacific) region experienced a 5.9% increase in organic revenue. However, North America saw a decline of 1.5% in organic revenue.

The Q3 adjusted operating profit showed a substantial growth of 8.8% in constant currency but reported a decline of 5.0% at £689 million.

Brian McNamara, Haleon’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am pleased with our Q3 results, which demonstrate continued strong momentum across the business. Despite challenging markets, we have delivered another quarter of strong organic growth, reflecting the strength of our category positions and the ongoing ability of our brands to grow or maintain share. Our Power Brands grew ahead of the overall portfolio in the period, with all three Oral Health brands, Panadol and Centrum, the standout performers. In Oral Health, innovation underpinned brand success alongside excellent execution in the market.”

Haleon share price. 

The Haleon share price fell 4.54% to trade at 315.5p from Wednesday’s closing price of 330.5p.