By Michael Susin


Reckitt Benckiser revenue for the first quarter fell less than feared, despite sales volumes below market estimates, and backed its full-year guidance.

The consumer-goods company--which houses Dettol, Harpic and Durex among its brands-- said revenue for the quarter was of 3.74 billion pounds ($4.66 billion), compared with GBP3.92 billion the same period a year ago. However, the figure was above a company-provided consensus of GBP3.70 billion.

Net revenue grew 1.5% on a like-for-like basis, driven by a price contribution of 2.0% while volumes fell 0.5%. The market compiled-consensus expected revenue growth of 5.4%, comprised of 3.2% volume contribution and of pricing 2.2%.

Reckitt is the latest company to report a struggle with the balance between prices and volumes amid a consumer-confidence recovery and lowering input costs. Since 2022, companies started to lift their prices to pass on the inflationary pressures to consumers, often sacrificing their sales volumes.

For 2024, Reckitt said it continues to expect net revenue growth on a like-for-like basis of between 2% and 4%.


Write to Michael Susin at michael.susin@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-24-24 0257ET