‘Excellent growth’ at Reckitt Benckiser
The household, health and personal care products group Reckitt Benckiser said today (11 February) that it had enjoyed “excellent growth” in 2008 and expected to grow revenue and profits in 2009 on the back of a number of new product launches.
Helped by favourable exchange rates, 2008 revenue was up 25% to £6.6 billion (2007: £5.3bn) while pre-tax profit rose to £1.5 billion (£1.2bn).
The company also said it was currently prioritising further debt repayment over share buybacks and, as a result, cancelling its planned 2009 share buyback.
Commenting on the results, CEO Bart Becht (pictured) said: “Reckitt Benckiser had an excellent year in 2008 despite challenging conditions, with like-for-like net revenue growth of plus-10%. All regions and all 17 powerbrands contributed to this growth, supported by significant media investment and successful innovations such as Vanish Intelligence and Finish Max in 1.
“Based on the current market outlook, our targets in 2009 are for net revenue growth of plus-4% (base £6,563m) and net income growth of +8-10% (base £1,143m).”
