By Chandini Monnappa
(Reuters) -British consumer healthcare group Haleon on Wednesday highlighted an uncertain demand outlook, particularly in the United States, but was confident about meeting its full-year targets due to strong performance in its other markets.
Companies around the world are assessing the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with some executives warning that U.S. trade policies have hit consumer and business confidence.
Haleon’s finance chief Dawn Allen said retailers in the U.S. were adjusting inventory in response to market uncertainty, but steady demand from other regions such as India supported Haleon’s confidence in its annual targets.
“Based on what we know today, the impact of tariffs is limited and included in the guidance provided,” Allen said after Haleon reported first-quarter organic revenue growth ahead of analyst expectations, driven by strength in its oral health business.
Haleon, maker of Sensodyne toothpaste, logged organic revenue growth of 6.6% from its oral health business, which Barclays analysts said “continues to be the star performer.”
CFO Allen said that growth in the business, which also includes the Parodontax brand, was driven by Sensodyne’s strong performance.
She said Haleon’s Sensodyne Clinical White toothpaste continued to attract a younger demographic, and had the strongest repeat rates in the sector.
Haleon shares fell as much as 2.4% to 368.20 pence, but recouped most of their losses by 1237 GMT and were trading flat.
The company’s vitamins and supplements business fell short of expectations, analysts said.
This business, which includes products like Centrum and Caltrate, had organic revenue growth of 0.9% in the three months ended March 31, well below estimated growth of 2.8%.
Allen attributed a decline in vitamin and supplement sales in North America to overall weakness and increased promotional activity amongst competitors in the region.
Haleon’s overall first-quarter organic revenue rose 3.5%, above the 3.2% growth analysts were expecting, according to a company-compiled poll.
(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Jane Merriman)
