Reckitt Benckiser hit by rivals’ flu medicines as sales disappoint

Shares in Reckitt Benckiser caught a cold on Friday after the consumer goods giant warned of more competition in the flu medicines market.

The FTSE 100 firm said its Mucinex flu treatment was hit by the return of some private-label rivals in the first quarter, and sales growth would be weaker than expected.

It was one of several headaches suffered by the group behind Durex and Nurofen. Reckitt reported weaker revenues from its Scholl footcare products, slower sales of Dettol bleach in the Middle East, and difficulties in raising prices globally amid stiff competition.

Comparable sales rose 2% to £3.1 billion, below the 2.6% that analysts had pencilled in. Shares in Reckitt plunged 366p to 5420p.

But chief executive Rakesh Kapoor was upbeat, pointing to strong performances in North America, China and India.

He added that US baby-formula firm Mead Johnson, which Reckitt bought for £13.3 billion last year, is “progressing well”.

Reckitt is trying to bounce back from a tough 2017 when it suffered a cyber-attack and took a £318 million hit from a US probe into pharmaceuticals competition.