Reckitt Benckiser reports interim Q1 revenue of £2.52B, up 7% from year-ago period as sales lifted by prolonged cold, flu season in North America, Europe

Nevin Barich

April 22, 2013 (press release) – * Like-for-like (“LFL”) growth excludes the impact of changes in exchange rates, acquisitions, disposals and discontinued operations.

** Scholl footwear is now included within ENA. It was previously included within RUMEA. Net revenue values and growth rates have been restated / calculated based on this reclassification.

Reckitt Benckiser, global Health, Hygiene and Home consumer products group, reports the following results highlights:

Highlights: Q1 (at constant rates)

Total net revenue growth of +7%. Ex. RBP growth +6%.
LFL net revenue growth excluding RBP of +6%.
Continued very strong growth in Emerging Market Areas. +3% LFL growth in ENA.
Strong underlying growth across Health & Hygiene boosted by higher incidence of flu. Good performance from Mucinex, Strepsils, Nurofen, Durex, Dettol / Lysol & Finish.
Schiff integration progressing well; strong Q1 on both Schiff and Guilong China.
RBP – total US market volume film share 69%, early generic tablet impact as expected.

Commenting on these results, Rakesh Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“We are pleased with a strong start to the year, with our Health and Hygiene brands leading RB’s growth across all geographies. Growth was driven from a combination of innovations, increased Brand Equity Investments and better in market executions. Mucinex and Strepsils have done particularly well, benefitting from a higher incidence of flu in the US and Cold, Flu and Sinus innovations. Nurofen and Durex also had a strong performance. In Hygiene, Dettol continues to grow very strongly in Emerging Market Areas through innovation and category expansion, and Lysol is performing well in the US. The Schiff integration is progressing well and our revenue growth is well ahead of the US VMS market.

On Suboxone, our patient-preferred sublingual film in the US increased its market share to 69%. The generic version of tablets became available during March, and their early impact is in line with expectations.

We expect continued challenging market conditions but nonetheless we remain confident that we can achieve our full year targets of +5-6% total net revenue growth1 (ex RBP) while maintaining operating margins.2”

1 ex RBP, at constant exchange rates
2 ex RBP, adjusted to exclude the impact of exceptional items

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