Proactive Investors - Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (LON:RKT) (ETR:RB) revealed it sold lower volumes in the first quarter as it continued to hike prices, and said it is promoting Kris Licht, currently chief customer officer, to be its new chief executive.
The maker of brands ranging from Durex condoms and Nurofen painkillers to Dettol cleaners and Air Wick fresheners said Licht - who joined from PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) in 2019 - will become CEO-designate in May, join the board in June, and take over the role from current interim CEO Nicandro Durante by the end of the year.
Reckitt’s last full-time boss, Laxman Narasimhan, left almost seven months ago, and City analysts and investors had been somewhat mystified by the time it was taking to find a replacement.
First-quarter results from the FTSE 100 group showed total net revenue rose 14.4% to £3.9bn as volumes declined 4.5% but the ‘price/mix’ effect contributed 12.4% growth.
The price hiking was even higher than the 10% seen last year and the 12% in the fourth quarter.
Like-for-like sales were up 2% for its Hygiene brands such as Finish, Harpic, and Vanish, 12.5% for Health, and 11.9% for the smaller Nutrition segment.
For the full year, Reckitt said it still expects “more challenging competitive dynamics” in its US Nutrition business and so is targeting between 3% and 5% growth in group LFL net revenue growth, down from the “mid-single digits” guidance it gave at its final results in March.
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