Reckitt Benckiser half year profits hit £1bn

25th Jul 2011 07:08

Strong growth in developing markets helped household and healthcare products group Reckitt Benckiser offset weakness in Europe to post pre-tax profits above £1bn for the half year to June 30.The maker of the Cillit Bang cleaning product and Nurofen painkillers said pre-tax climbed to £1.04bn from £971m over the same period the previous year on revenues that soared to £4.62bn from £4.06bn.Like-for-like sales in Europe, which accounts for nearly half of revenues, were down by 1%, but climbed by 16% taking into account the acquisition of SSL, the maker of Durex condoms. "Increased investment in price and promotion was the key factor behind" the fall in sales, Reckitt said, suggesting that consumer weakness is keeping prices low. The company reported particular weakness in laundry detergent sales in southern Europe.In North America & Australia, which account for nearly a quarter of revenues, sales were up by 5% and by 2% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the SSL acquisition. Developing markets, also with almost a quarter of revenues saw total revenue climb by 23%.The pharmaceuticals division, which accounts for 8% of sales, saw total revenues climb by 22% to £360m."Given these strong first half results, we are well-positioned to achieve our FY (full year) 2011 targets of +12% net revenue growth and +10% adjusted net income growth (both at constant exchange), and with that to deliver another year of above industry-average growth," chief executive Bart Becht said. ---RG