Reckitt Benckiser Swung to 2022 Profit, Beat Market Views

By Michael Susin

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC reported on Wednesday a better-than-expected swing to pretax profit in 2022 on the back of lower costs and raised its dividend payout.

The consumer-goods company--which houses Dettol, Harpic and Durex among its brands--posted a pretax profit 3.07 billion pounds ($3.69 billion), compared with a loss of GBP260 million in the year-earlier period.

Adjusted operating profit was GBP3.44 billion from GBP2.94 billion a year ago and compared with a consensus of GBP3.42 billion taken from the company's website.

Revenue came in at GBP14.45 billion from GBP13.23 billion the prior year. A consensus estimate taken from the company's website had forecast Reckitt's revenue at GBP14.41 billion.

The company's net revenue on a like-for-like basis grew 7.6%, above the market forecast of 7.5%, supported by broad-based growth.

For the year ahead the company expects like-for-like revenue growth of mid-single digits, an adjusted operating margin to be in line with or slightly above 2022 levels.

The board declared an interim dividend of 183.3 pence a share, compared with 174.6 pence declared the previous year.

Write to Michael Susin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 01, 2023 02:35 ET (07:35 GMT)

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