Reckitt shares plunge to lowest degree in additional than a 12 months as world turmoil sees gross sales stutter

Reckitt shares plunged to their lowest level in more than a year as it warned of weak sales and ‘geopolitical disruption’ related to Iran and Russia.

The consumer goods giant, whose brands include Durex, Dettol, Nurofen and Vanish, said sales rose by 1.3 per cent to £2.6billion in the first three months of the year.

That missed City forecasts, partly because of subdued demand for cold and flu medicines in North America and Europe.

It also suffered a ‘double-digit’ decline in its emerging-market household-care business due to changes to EU sanctions on Russia that ban exports of germ protection and cleaning products.

Reckitt is still in the process of transferring ownership of its Russian business. 

The company said it is also facing higher costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East – warning that if oil were to trade at $110 a barrel for the rest of 2026 it would take a hit of £130million to £150million.

Shares headache: Reckitt, whose brands include Durex, Dettol, Nurofen and Vanish, said sales rose by 1.3% to £2.6bn in the first three months of the year

Reckitt shares fell as much as 7.6 per cent to the lowest level since October 2024 before closing down 4.6 per cent at 4692p, taking losses this year to 25 per cent.

Setting the scene for further price hikes, the company said the increase in costs it is expecting is at ‘a manageable level to offset through flexibility and productivity in our supply chain, hedging strategy, pricing and our strong gross margin profile’.