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Consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser Group reported a smaller-than-expected rise in third-quarter sales on Tuesday, hurt by weak European markets and more cautious stocking of cold remedies by US retailers.
The maker of Durex condoms, Mucinex tablets and Dettol cleaners said like-for-like sales rose 2 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Excluding the pharmaceuticals business, which it plans to spin off by the end of the year, like-for-like sales rose 3 per cent.
On that basis, analysts were expecting growth of 3.7 per cent, according to a consensus compiled by the company.
Reckitt Benckiser said it expected full-year revenue growth to come in at the low end of its 4 to 5 per cent target range, with its profit margin expanding.
In Europe and North America, which together account for 57 per cent of revenue, like-for-like sales rose 1 per cent. The company said there had been a slowdown in sales of its Mucinex cold remedy following a long, strong flu season last year.
The company also said that so far, US retailers were stocking up more cautiously ahead of this year's flu season.
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