2023-04-26 06:51:14 ET
Reckitt Benckiser ( OTCPK:RBGPF ) ( OTCPK:RBGLY ) said Kris Licht will succeed Nicandro Durante as CEO, while announcing its Q1 results.
Licht will become CEO Designate as of May 1, beginning the transition to the role, and will take over as CEO by the end of 2023. During the transition, Licht will work with Durante.
Licht — who has served as President of Reckitt’s Health business and as chief customer officer since July 2020 — will also be appointed to the board as an executive director effective June 1.
Q1 results :
Reckitt's total net revenue grew +14% Y/Y (at actual) to £3.92B, +7.0% on FX basis.
The company said the Group like-for-like (LFL) net revenue grew +7.9% Y/Y and there was broad-based growth across all Business Units.
"In particular, our innovation programme has seen good early success across multiple launches, including Air Wick Active Fresh and Air Wick Vibrant, Finish Ultimate Plus All-In-One, our Dettol long-lasting germ protection platform, and Durex Invisible," said CEO Nicandro Durante.
Volume decline in Q1 was led by Lysol, lapping tough comparatives. Hygiene GBU grew +2.0% in Q1 with double digit growth across most of the portfolio, reduced by high teens decline in Lysol, according to the company.
However, Durante noted that the company expects Lysol to return to growth from Q2 due to improved distribution and innovation.
Hygiene segment sales grew +8.6% (at actual) to £1.59B, while Health revenue increased +17.2 (at actual) to £1.64B.
Sales from Nutrition rose +22.6% (at actual) to £683M.
Outlook :
Reckitt said it continues to expect more challenging competitive dynamics in its U.S. Nutrition business in future quarters.
The company thus targets a Group LFL net revenue growth of +3% to +5% in 2023 (including the lapping of the US Nutrition impact in 2022).
"Considering the strong start to the year, we are now targeting +3% to +5% Group LFL net revenue growth for the year, underpinned by our well supported and exciting innovation programme, a resilient supply chain and ongoing executional improvements," commented Durante.
The company continues to anticipate adjusted operating margins to be in line or slightly above 2022 levels when excluding the one-off benefit of circa 80bps in 2022 related to U.S. Nutrition.
For further details see:
Reckitt names CEO from within ranks; Q1 revenue grows but challenges in US Nutrition biz ahead