RB says sales of Dettol and Lemsip surge but Durex falls as Covid impact bites

Surging demand from covid-conscious shoppers for Dettol and Lysol detergents triggered a near 13% sales leap at consumer goods giant RB and led it to increase sales its profit forecasts for the year.

However, sales of Durex condoms fell as locked down couples felt too anxious to feel intimate despite spending so much time together.

The company formed from the historic Reckitt & Colman group also saw a leap in sales of medicines like Nurofen and Lemsip during the first three months a “pantry loading” shoppers stocked up ahead of the lockdown.

RB saw sales growth of 10% and more in its hygiene products in Europe, North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America as the coronavirus threat swept the world.

Demand was so strong that RB had to ramp up its production plants ,which include Dettol plants in Hull and Northampton, to increase output.

Like many factories seeing surges in demand from covid, Reckitts had cut its numbers of product lines to speed output and get more volumes out into the shops.

This came with a cost, as well as the huge disruption the virus had brought to its supply chain around the world.

While detergents and disinfectants shot up in demand, Durex sales slipped slightly, with new chief executive Laxman Narasimhan saying couples either could not get together due to the lockdown, or were not in the mood due anxiety about the virus and money worries.

"What you see is this virus is having a toll the number of intimate occasions in the UK," he said.

Numbers of "intimate occasions" were also sharply down in Italy, he said.

Sales had been partly offset by the success of Durex online, a home delivery service.

The figures in a first quarter trading statement today came as a relief to investors following Narasimhan’s decision in February to slash the value of Reckitt’s baby milk business by a hefty £5 billion following the poor performance of an $18 billion acquisition of America’s Mead Johnson.

That deal had gone sour due to poor sales in China, which continued into the quarter.

Narasimhan said: “Despite the significant pressures presented by Covid-19, our global teams have worked around the clock to ensure continuity of supply, while prioritising the safety or our employees, partners and the communities where we live and work.”