Haleon PLC (LSE:HLN, NYSE:HLN), the purveyor of medicine cabinet staples such as Panadol and Advil, joined Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB) in suffering the effects of a mild cold and flu season.
This, and slackening demand from China, were blamed for what is expected to be a slow first quarter of the new financial year.
However, a guardedly optimistic assessment of prospects and a planned £500 million share buyback prompted a 7% increase in the share price to 336.05p.
Haleon said its revenues grew by 4.1% to £11.3bn in 2023 while operating profit was up 9.4% at just under £2bn.
Looking ahead, the consumer products giant expects organic revenue to increase by 4-6%, while adjusted operating profit will grow faster than turnover, investors were told.
Investment bank Stifel described the performance as 'solid'. It added: "Haleon's FY23 results see the business continue to deliver operationally, delivering organic growth ahead of the underlying market and broader peers.
"While the debt profile of the business is improving, we continue to believe current leverage (3x at Dec 2023) may be off-putting for investors.
"This coupled with the shareholder overhang, with both GSK and Pfizer looking to exit their respective positions, in our view, puts a cap on share price performance in the near term."