Reckitt Benckiser Cuts 2019 Revenue Outlook After 1st Half Profit Rose

   By Anthony Shevlin 
 

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB.LN) said Tuesday that it expects a stronger second half, but still revised its growth outlook for the year after profits crept up the first half.

The consumer-goods company said pretax profit for the six month ended June 30 was 1.26 billion pounds ($1.55 billion), compared with GBP1.11 billion a year prior.

The company behind brands such as Cillit Bang cleaning products and Nurofen pain killers said revenue for the period rose 1% at constant currency to GBP6.24 billion from GBP6.14 billion.

Operating profit for the period rose to GBP1.41 billion, the company said.

The board proposed an interim dividend of 73 pence a share, up from 70.5 pence a share a year earlier.

Reckitt Benckiser expects a stronger second half to the year and for growth to return to normal levels for the company.

However, the company revised downward its full-year net revenue guidance to between 2% to 3% on a like-for-like basis. The company previous expected growth of between 3% and 4%.

Write to Anthony Shevlin at [e-mail]; @anthony_shevlin

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 30, 2019 02:32 ET (06:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.