Slough
Reckitt’s headache: Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser’s fourth-quarter like-for-like sales fell 1.2%, missing expectations of a 1.8% rise, says Dasha Afanasieva on Bloomberg. Reckitt blamed slowing demand for baby milk formula in the US, a weaker cold and flu medicine market, and lower overall consumer price inflation. It also took a £55m hit to revenue from a compliance issue in its Middle East business. The maker of Neurofen and Dettol disinfectant now expects more modest growth of between 2% and 4% this year. It is aiming for mid-single-digit growth in its health and hygiene units in 2024, with the nutrition unit, which makes Enfamil baby formula, returning to growth later in the year. CEO Kris Licht (pictured), who started in October, said Reckitt’s performance was “unsatisfactory”, but he is focused on his turnaround strategy to bolster investment and grow operating profit faster than sales.
Last year was a year in which “price hikes did all the work, with volumes taking a hit in the process”, says Matt Britzman of Hargreaves Lansdown. Cost-cutting
