Companies

Reckitt Benckiser

by Harry Williams

Contents
Reckitt Benckiser

Reckitt Benckiser is a British multinational corporation that manufactures household chemicals, personal care products, and over-the-counter medicines. The company operates in many countries around the world, including Germany, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Brazil.

Country

United Kingdom

Year of establishment

1999 year

Chief Executive

Chris Licht

Key

Christopher Sinclair, Chris Licht, Ranjeet Radhakrishnan, Sami Naffah, Angela Naef, Miguel Veiga-Pestana, Harold van den Broek, Volker Kuhn

Product

Household chemicals, personal care products, baby food, over-the-counter medicines

Number of employees

43,000

Share price

5.110.0 British pounds

Headquarters

Slaugh, Berkshire, United Kingdom

History

In 1814, English businessman Jeremy Colman founded Colman's, a company that produced mustard powder and flour. The company grew by entering new markets and expanding its production.

In 1938, Colman's merged with Reckitt & Sons, a company specialising in the production of starch and laundry products. The merged company was named Reckitt & Colman plc and began to actively enter the US and European markets with its products.

In order to expand its product range and enter new markets, Reckitt & Colman plc acquired several other companies during the second half of the 20th century, including:

  • Chiswick Products. Manufactured shoe care products, acquired in 1954.
  • Airwick Industries. Manufacturer of air fresheners, acquired in 1985.
  • Boyle-Midway. Manufacturer of household chemicals, acquired in 1990.
  • Lehn & Fink Products. Manufacturer of household disinfectants, owner of the Lysol brand. Acquired in 1994.

Having significantly expanded its product range, Reckitt & Colman plc decided to abandon food production and sold its entire business in this area to Unilever.

Reckitt Benckiser

Reckitt Benckiser

Reckitt Benckiser

Benckiser is a Dutch manufacturer of industrial chemicals and household chemicals. In 1999, Reckitt & Colman plc and Benckiser merged to form Reckitt Benckiser.

The merged company continued to follow the policy of Reckitt & Colman plc, buying up and absorbing various companies, thereby expanding its influence and entering new markets.

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the following companies were acquired:

Boots Group and Boots Healthcare International. Manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines.

  • The main brands of these companies (Clearasil acne treatment, Nurofen pain reliever, Strepsils lozenges) were acquired by Reckitt Benckiser for £1.9 billion in 2005.
  • Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. A pharmaceutical company whose brands include Mucinex. The company's business was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser for $2.3 billion in 2008.
  • SSL International. A manufacturer of contraceptives, which at the time owned the Durex brand. Purchased for $2.5 billion.
  • Schiff Nutrition. A manufacturer of dietary supplements and vitamins, acquired in 2012 for $1.4 billion.

Thanks to its active acquisition of other businesses and brands, Reckitt Bencakiser has managed to gain significant influence in the household chemicals, baby food, personal hygiene products and over-the-counter medicines markets. The company's annual turnover exceeds $20 billion.

Introducing Reckitt

What does Reckitt Benckiser do?

Reckitt Benckiser is a multinational corporation that operates in many countries. It employs over 43,000 people and is a large company, so it is divided into several divisions, each of which works in specific areas:

  • Hygiene. Manufacture of air fresheners, disinfectants and cleaning products, well-known brands: Lysol, Finish, Mortein, Air Wick, Harpic.
  • Health. Protective equipment and over-the-counter medicines, well-known brands: Dettol, Gaviscon, Strepsils, Nurofen, Durex, Mucinex, Veet.
  • Nutrition. Dietary supplements, baby food, vitamins, well-known brands: Enfa, Move Free, Nutramigen, Airborne, Neuriva.

Reckitt Benckiser: investor relations

No financial institution owns a controlling stake in Reckitt Benckiser. The largest shareholder is the investment fund BlackRock, Inc., which holds approximately 8% of the shares. More than 10 investment structures hold more than 1.5% of the shares.

From this distribution of shares among investors, it can be concluded that there are no dominant structures over all others that would have a significant influence on the company's activities. Therefore, all issues concerning the company's development are decided collectively, taking into account the opinions of the 10 major investment structures that own Reckitt Benckiser shares.

Who owns Reckitt Benckiser?

Reckitt Benckiser is owned by many well-known investment funds and private investors. Currently, the following entities control the largest share of the company's shares:

Reckitt Benckiser owner

Major shareholders and their holding

Reckitt Benckiser Annual Report and Results

Reckitt Benckiser is a public company, so its performance results are publicly available. Reckitt Benckiser's annual report and results for 2024 are as follows:

Indicator

Result

Compared to last year

Revenue

£14.169 billion

Decrease of 3%

Pre-tax profit

£2.104 billion

Decrease of 14%

Earnings per share

£2.04 billion

Decrease of 11%

Net income

£1.47 billion

Decrease of 7%

It is noticeable that in 2024, the company's key financial indicators declined significantly. This situation can be explained by a number of factors:

  • Deterioration in the markets that are key for Reckitt Benckiser (household chemicals, personal hygiene products).
  • Expectations of a transformation of the company.
  • Decline in sales.

It is worth noting that Reckitt Benckiser's like-for-like sales (LfL) increased by 1.4% in 2024. At the same time, sales volume decreased by 0.6%. The growth in like-for-like sales was made possible by the company increasing the price of some of its products.

RKT Share Price

Reckitt Benckiser share price over the last 10 years

Year

Minimum

Maximum

Average

2024

£39,85

£57,62

£48,74

2023

£50,93

£62,83

£55,35

2022

£66,7

£67,21

£56,21

2021

£57,32

£75,17

£62,27

2020

£57,77

£57,84

£66,47

2019

£61,71

£71,60

£59,78

2018

£58,36

£75,32

£64,98

2017

£64,68

£75,02

£71,49

2016

£63,87

£72,27

£70,24

2015

£62,83

£75,02

£68,07

Reckitt Benckiser share price

Reckitt Benckiser share price

Reckitt Benckiser share price forecast

The share price in 2025 will depend on a number of different factors. For example, experts believe that the average share price in 2025 will be around $22. The minimum price during the year will be $6.5, and the maximum will be $37.8.

Analysts believe that in the near future, within one year, we can expect a 10-15% increase in the share price. Therefore, we can expect a level of 5,700-5,800 pence per share.

The situation at Reckitt Benckiser and the value of the company's shares will largely depend on whether the company's management can successfully implement the restructuring. If this is achieved within the next few years, the value of the company's shares can be expected to grow by approximately 15% per year.

If the company fails to complete this task in a timely manner, the share price could fall back to 4,500–5,000 pence. Therefore, many analysts recommend waiting until all major events at the company have been completed and buying shares on the dip.

Reckitt Benckiser brands

Reckitt Benckiser products

Reckitt Benckiser brands

Reckitt Benckiser owns the following brands:

• Calgon. Cleaning products.

• Finish. Dishwasher tablets.

• Dosia. Washing powder.

• Clearasil. Facial cosmetics.

• Contex, Durex. Contraceptives.

• AirWick. Air fresheners.

• Veet. Hair removal products.

• Scholl. Foot care products.

• Vanish. Stain removers.

These are well-known brands used by many people around the world.

Frequently asked questions:

Why are Reckitt Benckiser shares falling?

The reasons for the decline are related to the risks of the company's business transformation, as well as recent low sales.

Where is Reckitt Benckiser's headquarters?

The corporation's headquarters are located in Slough, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

How big is Reckitt Benckiser?

Reckitt Benckiser is a large multinational company that has traditionally been included in the Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's largest companies.

Who is the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser?

The CEO of Reckitt Benckiser is Chris Licht.