London, April 24, 2026, 14:55 BST
- Reckitt shares were up 0.3% in delayed London trading on Friday, after a sharp post-results selloff earlier in the week.
- Core Reckitt first-quarter like-for-like revenue rose 1.3%, below the 2.9% forecast in a company-compiled analyst poll.
- The company kept its 2026 core sales outlook, but said first-half operating margin would be about 200 basis points below last year’s level.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc shares edged higher in London on Friday, but the move did little to settle investor concerns after the Dettol, Durex and Mucinex maker missed first-quarter sales expectations and warned of pressure on first-half margins.
The stock was quoted at 4,790p to sell and 4,791p to buy, up 16p, or 0.34%, according to delayed AJ Bell data. Its previous close was 4,775p, with the latest move coming after Wednesday’s results-driven fall.
Why it matters now is simple: Reckitt is asking investors to believe the weak quarter was seasonal and fixable, not a sign of deeper strain. The company is still reshaping itself around its core health, hygiene and wellness brands after selling its Essential Home business, while higher oil-linked costs, Russia sanctions and Middle East disruption have hit at the same time.
Core Reckitt posted like-for-like net revenue growth of 1.3% in the three months to March. Like-for-like, or LFL, strips out currency swings and major portfolio changes. Group net revenue fell 11.8% on an IFRS basis to 3.25 billion pounds, partly because last year’s numbers still included Essential Home.
The numbers were uneven. Emerging Markets rose 7.6%, helped by double-digit growth in China and India, but Europe fell 4.2% and North America slipped 0.9%. Seasonal over-the-counter products, the cold-and-flu lines such as Mucinex, Nurofen and Strepsils, declined 10.8% on a like-for-like basis.
Chief Executive Kris Licht said Core Reckitt’s sales growth was hit by “very low seasonal incidence,” weak European categories and geopolitical disruption. He also said the company would keep its 2026 LFL net revenue guidance, helped by a cold-and-flu reset and launches including Mucinex 12hr Cold and Fever. Reckitt
The market was not fully convinced. “The results showed broad-based muted growth,” Harsharan Mann, consumer sector hub lead at Aviva Investors, told Reuters. JPMorgan analyst Celine Pannuti wrote that the results raised doubts about whether Reckitt could meet its annual targets, after emerging markets guidance for the second quarter failed to improve much from the first. Reuters
Russia is another sore point. Reckitt told Reuters its Russian unit was developing products and registering intellectual property to replace much of its hygiene portfolio after tighter EU sanctions hit its ability to supply some products and use global brands in the market. Bernstein analyst Callum Elliot said investors would have questions about full-year sales expectations after the unexpected Russia hit.
But the bigger risk sits in the second half. Reckitt’s outlook assumes no further Middle East hit beyond the first half and says a scenario with oil at $110 a barrel for the rest of 2026 would add about 130 million to 150 million pounds of gross input costs. The company said it could manage that through supply-chain savings, hedging and pricing, but warned elevated commodity prices could weigh on household budgets.
That cost pressure is not Reckitt’s alone. Procter & Gamble warned on Friday of a roughly $1 billion profit hit in fiscal 2027 from surging oil prices, while Reuters reported that Nestlé had flagged higher costs and Beiersdorf was considering price hikes if commodity costs stayed high. “Oil is ubiquitous and high oil prices seep into everything,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, said. Reuters
Reckitt has some offsets. Germ Protection, home to Dettol and Lysol, grew 9.5% on a like-for-like basis in the quarter, while North American non-seasonal brands delivered mid-single-digit growth. The company also said its 1 billion pound share buyback was ongoing, with 669 million pounds of shares bought back by April 17.
The next test is whether Europe improves as the flu season fades, and whether China and India can keep carrying the core business while Russia and the Middle East drag. For now, Reckitt’s guidance is intact. The share price says investors still want proof.
