Reckitt Benckiser: Dettol, Durex and Gaviscon drive growth but America lags
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has reported an uptick in profit driven by its core brands and emerging markets despite a slowdown in North America.
Group revenue at the company rose by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
This growth was driven by emerging markets China and India, where like-for-like revenue growth was 10.7 per cent quarter on quarter.
Overall sales in North America contracted by 0.9 per cent amid “a volatile macroeconomic backdrop and weakening consumer confidence”, while sales in Europe grew 1.7 per cent.
The two regions together account for 60 per cent of ‘Core Reckitt’ revenue and 42.6 per cent of the company’s overall revenue.
Core Reckitt is the company’s central cluster of brands, which includes Dettol, Durex and Gaviscon. It posted like-for-like net revenue growth of 3.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.
The business continues to seek an exit in 2025, “whilst recognising that market conditions may impact this timeframe.”
Shares in the company fell by nearly five per cent in early trades.
Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht said: “We delivered a solid first quarter driven by Core Reckitt with continued strong growth in Emerging Markets.
“We continue to execute against our strategy to make Reckitt a more efficient, world-class consumer health and hygiene company, driven by increased investment, innovation, and our Fuel for Growth programme.”
Reckitt maintained its full year outlook, targeting three to four per cent like-for-like net revenue growth in Core Reckitt and two to four per cent growth overall.
It expects this growth to be led by emerging markets, with low-single digit growth in Europe and low-single digit decline in North America.
Tariff effect ‘immaterial’
Reckitt also provided an update on the effect of Trump’s tariffs on its supply chain.
The company said its latest modelling “identifies an immaterial annualised impact on our [cost of goods sold] base which we are confident in mitigating over the short to medium-term through a number of levers”.
“These include our inflight manufacturing investments, such as the recent investment in our Wilson, North Carolina, manufacturing facility, our excellent brand equities with pricing power, and limited imports from China into the US,” the company added.
The United States has a 10 per cent tariff on all countries and a 145 per cent tariff on Chinese goods.