LONDON, March 30, 2026, 20:04 BST
Haleon said on Monday it had bought back 8.94 million shares for cancellation under its £500 million repurchase programme, the latest step in a capital return plan the consumer health group began this month. Its shares were up 2.53% at 376.2 pence in delayed London trade. 1
The update matters because Haleon is leaning on buybacks while it tries to recover from a softer start to 2026. In February, the Sensodyne maker said it expected 2026 organic revenue growth — sales growth stripped of currency swings and deal effects — of 3% to 5%, below its medium-term 4% to 6% goal, and Chief Executive Brian McNamara told Reuters, “We feel confident the U.S. will grow this year.” Haleon’s next trading statement is due on April 29. 2
Monday’s filing put the number of voting shares at 8.920 billion. Based on Haleon’s March 16, March 23 and March 30 disclosures, the group has reported buying back about 19.5 million shares since the programme began. 3
The near-term picture still looks thin. Proactive, citing Monday previews from UBS and Citi, said both banks expect about 2.2% first-quarter organic sales growth, below consensus, after a mild cough-and-cold season in Europe and North America hit respiratory products, while UBS modelled reported revenue of about £2.86 billion, broadly flat year on year as currency moves weigh. 4
Skepticism has not fully cleared. After Haleon’s February results, Jefferies analyst David Hayes wrote, “This is not good enough we fear,” arguing that the company’s guidance had dropped to 3%-5% from its 4%-6% medium-term range. 5
The broader consumer-health patch has hardly been straightforward. Reckitt shares slid more than 6% earlier this month after investors balked at a murky 2026 outlook on margins and earnings, even as quarterly sales beat estimates. Kenvue, another over-the-counter health rival, beat fourth-quarter forecasts in February but announced global job cuts as it pushed through an operating overhaul. 6
That leaves a simple risk for Haleon: if respiratory demand stays weak and Latin America remains sluggish, the buyback may steady sentiment without doing much for the near-term sales picture. That is roughly the setup several brokers are bracing for going into the first-quarter update. 7
Haleon, whose brands include Sensodyne, Panadol, Advil, Centrum and Otrivin, has been trying to lean harder on oral health and emerging markets. Reuters reported this month that the company is investing 65 million pounds in a Shanghai oral-health plant and plans to take Parodontax into more than 30 Chinese cities by the end of 2027. 8
