Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE: RKT) is a company listed on the FTSE 100 Index, focused on developing and acquiring products in the health, hygiene, wellness, and nutrition sectors.

Q3 FY24 Trading Update (Released on 23 October 2024)

1. Trading Performance Overview: Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC reported 0.4% like-for-like (LFL) net revenue growth YTD, with a 0.5% decline in Q3. Health and Hygiene growth of 2.8% YTD offset challenges in US Nutrition, affected by a supply issue and the Mount Vernon tornado. Overall, the group's net revenue declined 3.8% YTD, impacted by 3.9% FX headwinds and 0.3% M&A effects.
2. Segment Performance and Market Share Growth: Hygiene and Health saw positive volume momentum, with Hygiene growing 0.9% YTD and Health 0.2%. Market share improved across both portfolios. Hygiene’s LFL net revenue grew 3.7% YTD, driven by Lysol and Finish innovations. Health saw a 1.9% YTD growth, supported by brands like Durex and Dettol, while seasonal OTC brands experienced declines due to difficult comparatives.
3. Impact of US Nutrition Challenges: US Nutrition faced an 11.6% YTD decline in LFL net revenue, primarily due to supply disruptions from the Mount Vernon tornado. However, inventory recovery was better than expected, reducing the impact on Q3 sales. The company continues to manage the situation and anticipates improvement in future performance.
4. Strategic Developments and Corporate Actions: Reckitt’s new Global Executive Committee is operational, with senior leadership appointments complete. The company is on track to deploy a new operating model by January 2025. Essential Home is progressing toward separation, with an exit planned by the end of 2025. The GBP 1 billion Share Buyback program has repurchased GBP  321 million in shares as of October 18, 2024.
5. Outlook for 2024: CEO Kris Licht affirmed that Reckitt is on track to meet its 2024 targets, with stronger market share in Health and Hygiene. Despite challenges in US Nutrition, the company remains optimistic about a normalized market. Reckitt is focused on portfolio reshaping, operational simplification, and boosting shareholder returns, with further updates to be provided in the FY24 results.
6. Share Buyback: Reckitt Benckiser Group plc has initiated the third tranche of its GBP 1 billion share buyback programme, aiming to return up to GBP 500 million to shareholders. This follows the completion of the first two tranches, with HSBC managing the third tranche's share purchases and sales on behalf of the company.

Share Price Chart

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Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LSE: RKT) was trading at the current market price of GBX 4,843.00 as of 02 January 2025, 10:15 AM GMT.

Note 1: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance level is 02 January 2025, 10:15 AM GMT. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.

Note 3: ‘Kalkine reports are prepared based on the stock prices captured either from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and or REFINITIV. Typically, both sources (LSE and or REFINITIV) may reflect stock prices with a delay which could be a lag of 15-20 minutes. There can be no assurance that future results or events will be consistent with the information provided in the report. The information is subject to change without any prior notice.

Note 4: Dividend Yield may vary as per the stock price movement.