After an eight-month search, Reckitt has announced that company insider Kris Licht will be its next Chief Executive. He will succeed interim boss Nicandro Durante by the end of the year after a transition period.
Licht has served as President of Reckitt’s Health business and as Chief Customer Officer since July 2020. He joined the British consumer goods giant from PepsiCo, where he held a variety of senior operational and strategic leadership positions.
“Having played a pivotal role in both the transformation strategy and the significant turnaround of our Health GBU over the last three years, Kris is the right leader to take Reckitt on the next stage of its exciting journey,” said Durante, who temporarily took over the role when Laxman Narasimhan left last September to become CEO of coffee chain Starbucks.
Neil Denman, a fund manager at Reckitt investor Sarasin & Partners, commented: “I very much like the continuity of an internal appointment. You’re not getting an external CEO saying they’re going to come in and change things.”
Alongside the management change, Reckitt posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. It produced net revenues of £3.92bn after sales rose 7.9% on a like-for-like basis, boosted by higher prices to offset cost inflation. However, volumes declined by 4.5% as cash-strapped shoppers switched to cheaper alternatives.
In Reckitt’s Hygiene division, like-for-like sales increased by 2.0%, driven by the growth of its Finish, Harpic and Vanish brands. In its Health unit, sales rose 12.5% after “excellent performance” across its OTC portfolio (+30%). The group noted that its Dettol brand remained on track for growth in the year, despite a slight decline in the quarter. Meanwhile, Reckitt’s Nutrition business grew sales by 11.9%.
The company is targeting like-for-like net revenue growth of between 3% and 5% for the full year.
Durante commented: “We have made a strong start to the year across each of our business units and geographies, reflecting further delivery from the investments we have made. In particular, our innovation programme has seen good early success across multiple launches, including Air Wick Active Fresh and Air Wick Vibrant, Finish Ultimate Plus All-In-One, our Dettol long-lasting germ protection platform, and Durex Invisible. Further innovations are planned for the upcoming quarters.
“I am encouraged to see improving volume and share trends across our Hygiene GBU. Lysol performed in line with expectations, and we continue to expect Lysol to return to growth from Q2 underpinned by improved distribution and innovation. Our OTC brands continue to perform well in a strong growth category, and our Enfabrands are maintaining their leading market share positions in the US. Europe delivered a strong quarter across Health and Hygiene and China is yet to show the full benefit of reopening.
“Considering the strong start to the year, we are now targeting +3% to +5% Group LFL net revenue growth for the year, underpinned by our well supported and exciting innovation programme, a resilient supply chain and ongoing executional improvements.”
