Pre-tax loss: Reckitt Benckiser in the red - Reckitt shares fall

The company posted a pre-tax loss. It also considers a weak third quarter.

The group, which includes brands such as Clearasil, Sagrotan and Calgon, posted a pre-tax loss of £1.94 billion in six months. They posted a special fee of £3.2 billion due to the loss from the discontinued operations and write-offs. Last year, Reckitt wrote a profit of £1.44 billion. Sales fell from £6.9bn to £6.6bn. The interim dividend remains at 73 pence per share.

“Cost inflation continued into the second quarter and will take time to be offset with productivity and pricing measures later this year and early next year,” the company said.

Higher costs will offset margin gains from the sale of IFCN China, a Chinese baby food business, for roughly $2.2 billion. The sale is expected to close in the second half of the year.

Compared to the strong last year, the third quarter is likely to be weaker, Reckitt announced. The group also expects the cold medicine business to pick up in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the demand for disinfectants is still significantly higher than before the pandemic. The sanitation portfolio has grown by 34.1 percent in two years.

In London, shares of Reckitt fell 8.84 per cent several times to £56.75.

London (Dow Jones)