Reckitt sales miss targets as Scholl footcare range limps on

RECKITT Benckiser investors have punished the Nurofen and Harpic maker for missing its first-quarter sales targets.

RB, the consumer goods giant behind Durex and Cillit Bang, chalked up 2pc like-for-like growth in the first three months of the year but fell short of analysts’ expectations of 2.6pc.

Sales growth suffered in the face of weak pricing, a “significant underperformance” from the Scholl footcare brand and tough trading from Dettol in the Middle East.

It follows a disappointing announcement in February when the firm booked its first year of flat sales after a cyber attack and fierce competition took its toll. Shares fell 2.8pc to £56.25, but its chief executive Rakesh Kapoor urged investors to look past the problems.

He said: “We have been weighed down by Scholl and one-off factors, but if somebody can see beyond that, you will see a fantastic company that is still running in an incredible way.”

RB joined rivals Unilever and Nestlé in seeing sales come under pressure from weak pricing, but Mr Kapoor said there was a “distinct possibility” prices could “inch up” in the months ahead.

Scholl remained a thorn in the side of the firm, with “significant declines” offsetting sales growth from Durex and VMS brands. Mr Kapoor said he was “very unhappy” to still be talking about Scholl after such a long period of time. “But let’s take the macros here – 80pc of people suffer from some kind of foot problem and only 20pc of them treat it, so there is a huge market.”

RB split itself into two divisions in 2017, one focused on its consumer healthcare brands and the other on detergents, air fresheners and household cleaning. It said it was on course to hit annual revenue targets of 13pc to 14pc.