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    Tom Sykes • Deutsche Bank

    Tom Sykes's questions to Haleon PLC (HLN) leadership

    Tom Sykes's questions to Haleon PLC (HLN) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Tom Sykes from Deutsche Bank AG requested a breakdown of U.S. volume headwinds between retailer destocking and channel shift to online. He also asked why similar inventory pressures are not expected in other regions like Europe, and whether the shift to e-commerce impacts operating margins.

    Answer

    CEO Brian McNamara explained that while channel shift is a factor, the bigger impact is broad inventory pressure across U.S. retailers, particularly in the drug channel, due to the tough economic environment. He contrasted this with Europe, where pharmacies carry very low inventory levels, making the dynamic different. He stated that the margin profile of the e-commerce channel is relatively similar to others and is factored into the company's overall guidance.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Haleon PLC (HLN) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Tom Sykes asked for a breakdown of U.S. volume headwinds between channel destocking and the channel shift to online. He also questioned why similar pressures wouldn't eventually occur in Europe, where Haleon is overweight in the pharmacy channel, and if the shift to Amazon impacts margins.

    Answer

    CEO Brian McNamara stated the inventory pressure is happening across U.S. channels but is disproportionately felt in the drug channel. He contrasted this with Europe, where pharmacies carry very low inventory, making the dynamic different. He noted the shift to Amazon is manageable as Haleon has stronger shares there and confirmed the e-commerce channel shift does not negatively impact overall margins.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Haleon PLC (HLN) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Tom Sykes of Deutsche Bank AG pressed for more detail on U.S. retailer trends, asking if the volume headwinds could be split between inventory destocking and channel shift towards online. He also questioned why similar destocking and channel shift pressures would not eventually emerge in other regions like Europe, where Haleon has a high concentration in the pharmacy channel.

    Answer

    CEO Brian McNamara clarified that the primary issue in the U.S. is broad inventory pressure across all retail channels, which is a bigger impact than the channel shift itself. He explained that the dynamic is very different in Europe, where pharmacies traditionally carry very low inventory levels, making a similar large-scale destocking event unlikely. He also noted the shift to e-commerce is on balance margin-neutral and factored into guidance.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Unilever PLC (UL) leadership

    Tom Sykes's questions to Unilever PLC (UL) leadership • H1 2025

    Question

    Tom Sykes of Deutsche Bank asked about A&P allocation for different retail channels like Amazon and Walmart, and whether the company is achieving a sustainable 100 basis points of productivity benefit over COGS.

    Answer

    CEO Fernando Fernandez discussed the shift to 'new models of reach and persuasion,' including retail media, to drive growth on platforms like Amazon and Walmart. Acting CFO Srinivas Phatak confirmed that procurement teams are on track to beat the market by at least 100 basis points in buying efficiencies, contributing to gross margin expansion, as part of a broader, end-to-end productivity drive.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Unilever PLC (UL) leadership • FY 2024

    Question

    Tom Sykes of Deutsche Bank asked for clarification on the guidance for H2 volume/mix improvement despite price increases and inquired about the contribution of the 'Project Sky' retail initiative to North American growth.

    Answer

    CEO Hein M. Schumacher explained that H2 volume growth will benefit from the annualization of business resets in China and Indonesia, which are expected to turn positive year-on-year. Regarding 'Project Sky,' he described it as a key AI-driven initiative being rolled out globally to improve planning and forecasting. CFO Fernando Fernandez added that this has contributed to a significant improvement in Unilever's retailer satisfaction scores.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Unilever PLC (UL) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Tom Sykes asked for clarification on the 2025 guidance, questioning how volume/mix could improve in H2 while prices are increasing. He also inquired about the impact of 'Project Sky' with Walmart on North American performance and its expected benefits.

    Answer

    CEO Hein. M. Schumacher explained that H2 volume growth will be supported by the annualization of turnarounds in China and Indonesia. He attributed Q1 volume volatility to factors like holiday timing and retailer destocking in Latin America. He described Project Sky as a key AI initiative for improving planning and forecasting, which is being rolled out globally with positive customer feedback. CFO Fernando Fernandez added that this improved execution is reflected in significantly better retailer survey scores.

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    Tom Sykes's questions to Unilever PLC (UL) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Tom Sykes asked about the '6 Ps' framework, inquiring what percentage of the portfolio will see renewal by year-end, and questioned what Unilever's factory and supplier infrastructure might look like in three years.

    Answer

    CEO Hein M. Schumacher explained that the 'unmissable brand superiority' framework is a dynamic process applied across the portfolio, with a goal to double the average size of innovations. CFO Fernando Fernandez stated they are happy with the current supply chain setup but are investing over 50% of CapEx in margin-expansion initiatives to increase productivity, maintaining a balance between owned and third-party manufacturing.

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