Shares in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE:RKT, ETR:3RB) rose almost 4% to a six-month high after the Cilit Bang, Nurofen and Durex maker reported a smaller fall in sales than investors feared.
Third-quarter numbers showed group organic sales down 0.5%, beating the average City analyst forecast for a 1.7% decline.
Management also backed their previous full-year outlook and said they will disclose new targets at final results in February, to reflect its new reporting structure, where it is shifting from a category-first model to a geography-first approach.
"Given recent operational volatility at Reckitt, and the mixed performances elsewhere this results season, we think this is good enough," faint-praised Barclays.
Barclays said Reckitt seemed to have confidence in a strong fourth quarter, given the acceleration implied by its guidance.
However, the bank's analysts noted that the sales beat was entirely driven by much better than expected (though still flat) sales at the Nutrition division, which is non-core and where RB is potentially putting its Mead Johnson brand up for sale as part of a promised major shake-up.
Among the core businesses, Hygiene was slightly weaker than the consensus forecast, though Health was slightly stronger.
Adam Vettese, analyst at eToro, said that "some investors may have been fearing the worst", with the FTSE 100 group "beset with legal issues in relation to its baby formula product and a multi-million dollar verdict hanging over them".
Instead, the share price reaction reflected "a sigh of relief as the company", seeing the health division as doing "a lot of the heavy lifting".
RB shares have climbed 20% since plunging to decade lows off the back of the legal issues in April.
Vettese said the rebound in the shares was "great for any opportunists that got in at that level and somewhat of a relief for longer-term investors, although they are not out of the woods yet".
"The firm says it is on track to meet its full-year guidance which I’m sure shareholders are happy to hear. It is the legal woes however that they really want to see the end of."