Household products group Reckitt Benckiser defied all signs of recession this week with a powerful third quarter performance that saw double digit percentage increases in revenues and profits.
Bart Becht (pictured), CEO at the 2007 Cranfield/Works Management Factory of the Year Award winner, said strong growth had come from across all regions and ‘powerbrands’, on the back of heavy investments in advertising and the success of innovative products such as Finish Quantum and Vanish Intelligence.
“As a result of this momentum in the underlying business, we are raising our full year target for net revenue growth to +13% from at least +11-12%,” said Becht. For net income growth, he was confident of achieving at least the +11% target at constant exchange, or around +21% at actual exchange.
At actual exchange rates, net revenue for the third quarter was up 24% at £1.6 billion and up 22% at £4.7 billion for the year to date. Reported operating profit on the same basis was up 12% at £380 million in Q3 and up 16% to £980 million for the year to date.
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