Durex and Lysol owner Reckitt sees revenue top £14bn as consumers continue to choose branded medicine over generic ‘cheaper’ drugs
Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser has said it was entering the year as a “strengthened business” after reporting a strong sales increase for the year led by its nutrition business.
The UK company, which also owns other brands including Dettol, saw net revenue growth for the year up 9.2 per cent to £14.45bn.
Revenues in its nutrition offering performed the best for the year, increasing by 22.9 per cent. Moreover, its health like-for-like net revenue also grew by 14.7 per cent.
Despite the increase, the group saw revenues in its hygiene offering decline 3.1 per cent, blaming “tough comparatives in Lysol” for the dip. When excluding Lysol, the business delivered mid-single digit growth.
“We enter 2023 as a strengthened business with enhanced financial, operational and brand resilience, and continued growth momentum,” Nicandro Durante, chief executive officer, at Reckitt Benckiser said.
Durante, who recently stepped into the role following the departure of its former chief Laxman Narasimhan in September, also said that the group is now 28 per cent larger than it was in 2019.
In North America, the group also reported a 5.7 per cent increase in like-for-like revenues up £4.95bn.
Commenting on the results AJ analysts said: “Big brands still count in the nutrition and health market. That’s the clear message underlined by results from Reckitt where these two areas helped it beat expectations.
“At a time when household budgets are under real pressure, you’d think people would be happy to buy unbranded over-the-counter drugs but products like Nurofen still look to be a winner with consumers.
They continued: “The strong infant nutrition sales in the US shouldn’t be counted on long term, as a recall by rival Abbott Laboratories after customers complained of their kids contracting bacterial infections allowed Reckitt to fill the gap. However, lingering brand damage for Abbott could help Reckitt consolidate at least some of these market share gains.”