Chronic pains

22 October 2019 By Dasha Afanasieva Follow @dasha_reuters

The $54 bln maker of Gaviscon antacid is still having trouble absorbing its 2017 purchase of baby food maker Mead Johnson, says outgoing CFO Adrian Hennah. The result is a second cut in the 2019 sales target. The recognition is welcome, but a full recovery may require more pain.

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British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser on Oct. 22 announced revenues of 3.3 billion pounds in the third quarter. This was a like-for-like revenue increase of 1.6% over the same period in the previous year. Sales of over-the-counter medicines fell by 6.8%, and the other health category, which includes the Durex and Dettol brands, declined by 2.5%.

The company downgraded its like-for-like net revenue growth target to 0-2% from 2-3%, blaming the reduction in retailer inventory levels of seasonal products in the third quarter and the uncertainties of the season and associated stocking. It also said it expected a modest decline in adjusted operating margin in 2019, having previously forecast the metric to remain flat.

Shares in Reckitt Benckiser were down 4.6% at 56.04 pounds by 0850 GMT on Oct. 22.

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