London, April 24, 2026, 14:55 BST
- Reckitt edged 0.3% higher in late London trade Friday, rebounding slightly after taking a hit on results earlier this week.
- Reckitt’s core first-quarter like-for-like revenue eked out a 1.3% increase, missing the 2.9% lift analysts in a company survey had expected.
- The company is sticking with its 2026 core sales target. Still, it expects first-half operating margin to land roughly 200 basis points under last year’s figure.
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc ticked up in London trading Friday, though that minor gain barely eased investor worries. The Dettol, Durex and Mucinex maker fell short on first-quarter sales and flagged pressure on first-half margins.
The share last changed hands at 4,790p on the sell side and 4,791p to buy, a gain of 16p, or 0.34%, based on delayed AJ Bell data. That compares with a prior close of 4,775p. This uptick followed a slide on Wednesday, triggered by results.
The key point: Reckitt wants shareholders to buy the line that last quarter’s stumble was just a blip—seasonal, with solutions in sight—not evidence of ongoing trouble. After unloading Essential Home, the company’s still retooling to focus on health, hygiene and wellness brands. But higher costs tied to oil, sanctions on Russia, and Middle East turmoil have all piled on.
Core Reckitt turned in a 1.3% increase in like-for-like net revenue for the quarter ending March. LFL figures back out currency fluctuations and large portfolio moves. Group net revenue dropped 11.8% on an IFRS basis to 3.25 billion pounds, with last year’s tally still counting Essential Home as a factor.
Numbers didn’t line up across the board. Emerging Markets posted a 7.6% gain, lifted by strong double-digit growth out of China and India. Europe dropped 4.2%, while North America edged down 0.9%. Those seasonal OTC brands—including Mucinex, Nurofen and Strepsils—sank 10.8% like-for-like.
Kris Licht, the chief executive, pointed to “very low seasonal incidence,” soft demand in European categories, and geopolitical disruption as reasons for sluggish Core Reckitt sales growth. Still, he’s sticking with the 2026 LFL net revenue target, betting on a rebound from a cold-and-flu reset and product launches like Mucinex 12hr Cold and Fever. Reckitt
Investors weren’t buying it. “The results showed broad-based muted growth,” said Harsharan Mann, consumer sector hub lead at Aviva Investors, in a comment to Reuters. JPMorgan’s Celine Pannuti flagged concerns about Reckitt’s ability to hit full-year targets, noting that its second-quarter outlook for emerging markets barely budged from the first. Reuters
Russia continues to cause headaches for Reckitt. The company told Reuters its Russian business is working on new product development and registering IP, aiming to fill gaps left after stricter EU sanctions blocked the supply of certain hygiene products and the use of global brands in Russia. Bernstein’s Callum Elliot flagged that the Russia setback could leave investors questioning whether full-year sales targets are still realistic.
The second half is where the real risk looms. Reckitt’s forecast banks on no additional Middle East disruptions after the first half, and it models $110-a-barrel oil through the rest of 2026 as adding roughly 130 million to 150 million pounds to gross input costs. Reckitt said it can handle that via supply-chain savings, hedging, and pricing actions, but flagged that higher commodity prices might squeeze household budgets.
Reckitt isn’t facing this squeeze alone. Procter & Gamble just warned on Friday that it expects to take about a $1 billion profit hit in fiscal 2027, blaming rising oil prices. Over at Nestlé, higher costs have also been flagged, according to Reuters, and Beiersdorf is weighing price increases if commodity costs remain elevated. “Oil is ubiquitous and high oil prices seep into everything,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. Reuters
There were a few bright spots for Reckitt. The Germ Protection unit—which includes Dettol and Lysol—posted 9.5% like-for-like growth in the quarter. North American non-seasonal brands landed in the mid-single digits. Reckitt’s 1 billion pound share buyback remains in motion, with 669 million pounds already repurchased by April 17.
Next up: Europe. Investors want to see improvement as flu season wanes. China and India are still propping up the main business, with Russia and the Middle East weighing it down. Reckitt’s guidance hasn’t budged, but the share price signals that the market remains unconvinced.
