Sales & Earnings In Brief
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Launches underlie Reckitt consumer growth: Recent line extensions, including Nurofen Express pain reliever and Strepsils Cool throat lozenges, enable Reckitt Benckiser's Health & Personal Care business to grow 16 percent to $869.5 million (533 million U.K. pounds under Oct. 27 conversion rates) during the fiscal 2009 third quarter. "Those products are doing extremely well and clearly underpin the growth rate that we are seeing" in the segment, CEO Bart Becht said Oct. 27. In a same-day release, the U.K. firm cited Dettol hygiene products, Gaviscon antacid and Mucinex cough/cold remedy as major growth drivers. Becht told analysts to expect additional launches in February 2010. Reckitt reported overall net revenue of $3.1 billion in the July-September period, a 7 percent gain. Quarterly net income was $582.4 million, up 12 percent