The Veet hair removal system for hairy gorillas is flying off the shelf.

This surely has to be a buy? DYOR

http://www.reckittbenckiser.com/

no wonder HG+HC index continues to spiral

Just £46.26 so far today!

here's the answer to today's slump .....

Consumer products group Reckitt Benckiser was the worst performer, slumping 182.5p at 4,333.5p on news the US FDA has given the go-ahead to rival drug manufacturers to produce a generic version of the company's Suboxone product in the US. In response, Investec downgraded its recommendation on the stock to sell from hold

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i would guess the drop is overdone as is the nature of these things, though when wall street opens today, there may be further selling ...... worth keeping an eye on HG+HC index, as a buying opportunity may be on the near horizon after this sharp correction - but be very aware that its volatility is scary

25 February - Deutsche bank - RB. still a buy and retains its price target of £48.
Investec did downgrade from hold to sell but retained its TP of £42.60.

Reuters take :-

Reckitt loses bid to change U.S. drug packaging rules

(Reuters) - The U.S. drugs regulator has rejected goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser's call for stricter packaging for its heroin addiction treatment, instead approving generic production for the drug.

The British company's pharmaceuticals division makes most of its profit from Suboxone, a treatment containing buprenorphine, for recovering heroin addicts.

Last year, Reckitt voluntarily withdrew the sale of Suboxone tablets in the U.S. in favor of an individually sealed film version, citing a higher risk of children mistakenly getting their hands on the tablets.

Credit Suisse Neutral 4,581.50 4,516.00 4,250.00 4,900.00 Reiterates

Bank of America Merrill Lynch retains buy and raises target to £52.50

INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT Q1 2013


Highlights: Q1 (at constant rates)

* Total net revenue growth of +7%. Ex. RBP growth +6%.

* LFL net revenue growth excluding RBP of +6%.

* Continued very strong growth in Emerging Market Areas. +3% LFL growth in
ENA.

* Strong underlying growth across Health & Hygiene boosted by higher
incidence of flu. Good performance from Mucinex, Strepsils, Nurofen, Durex,
Dettol / Lysol & Finish.

* Schiff integration progressing well; strong Q1 on both Schiff and Guilong
China.

* RBP - total US market volume film share 69%, early generic tablet impact as
expected.

Credit Suisse Neutral 4,700.00 4,900.00 4,650.00 Reiterates

Nomura Buy 4,700.00 4,900.00 4,800.00 Retains

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Buy 4,700.00 5,250.00 5,250.00 Retains

but sp shows why today's "clunk" on HG+HC index

Half-Year Results 2013

3rd Quarter Results

Highlights:

* Year to date like-for-like (LFL) net revenue growth (ex RBP) of +5%, driven
by Emerging Markets Areas (EM) growth and continued growth in ENA.
* Strong Q3 LFL growth of +5% (ex RBP) - ENA +2% LAPAC +10% and RUMEA +5%.
* Continued excellent Health & Hygiene performances, and a solid Home
performance in challenging market conditions.
* RBP - volume (mg) market share of Film maintained at around 68% since
launch of generic tablets and strategic review of RBP to commence.

Investec & Liberum both gave 'sell' ratings yesterday!

Investec after results today have upgraded their sell rating to hold

Canaccord Genuity Sell 4,729.50 4,500.00 4,100.00 4,100.00 Reiterates

Societe General retains hold but ups target price to £47.50
Deutsche Bank retains but and price target £51.

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/markets/city-loves-suspense-as-reckitt-works-out-what-path-to-take-9111772.html

The owner of Clearasil, Cillit Bang and Dettol was cleaning up today when rumours of M&A activity re-emerged and the City rated the stock a Buy.

Two issues surrounding consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser have got the tension mounting: first, it has recently been linked to a potential bid for US group Merck’s consumer healthcare business — valued at up to $10 billion (£6.1 billion) — which includes Coppertone sun cream and second, some in the Square Mile are waiting for Reckitt to flog its drugs business with an estimated price tag of between £1 billion and £4 billion.

Credit Suisse today raised its rating of the group to outperform ahead of results next week. Credit Suisse said that although there are issues with drugs — its heroin- substitute medicine faces generic and branded competition — this part of the business only makes up “15% of the profits” and investors should remember the group has a much wider portfolio. Credit Suisse raised its price target to 5200p as the shares jumped 124p to 4781p — top of the blue-chip league table. Panmure Gordon said: “A key strength of Reckitt has been its ability to find attractive consumer healthcare acquisitions… We believe [M&A] would create a more attractive group, but we still don’t see any material ‘hidden value’ in Reckitt’s shares.” So they rated it neutral with a 4625p target price.

Full Year Results 2013

Highlights: Full Year

· Total growth (ex RBP, constant) of +7% - exceeding targets. Acquisitions outperforming initial growth expectations on the back of rapid integration and synergy delivery.
· Net revenue LFL +5% growth (ex RBP) - sustained strong performance from ENA (Europe and North America) and LAPAC (Latin America and Asia Pacific). RUMEA (Russia, Middle East and Africa) LFL growth +5%.
· High quality, Health & Hygiene led growth; Durex, Mucinex, Strepsils, Dettol, Lysol, Harpic and Finish particularly strong, offsetting planned streamlining of portfolio brands.
· Significant gross margin expansion of +150bps to 59.4%, driven by mix, pricing, cost optimization initiatives and Private Label discontinuation.
· Continued increased investment in sustainable growth. +£100m BEI (+30bps) - ex RBP.
· Operating profit (ex RBP)** adjusted +7% (constant). Margins up +20bps to 23.6% - exceeding targets.
· Adjusted net income +2% (+2% constant): adjusted diluted EPS of 269.8p (+2%).
· Net working capital improvement of £163m to minus £863m - better receivables and inventory.
· Net debt reduced by £0.3bn to £2.1bn (2012: £2.4bn). Free cash flow > 100% of net income.
· The Board recommends a final dividend of 77p per share bringing the total dividend for 2013 to 137p (+2% versus 2012).
· RB Pharmaceuticals (RBP) - Net revenue -8% (constant), ahead of expectations as US Film share maintained; strategic review underway.

Highlights: Q4 / H2
· Q4 net revenue LFL growth +4% (ex RBP) reflecting continued strong performance from Health/Hygiene Powerbrands in challenging market conditions.
· Q4 total growth + 7% (ex RBP, constant), reflecting excellent performance from Schiff and a strong start with BMS in LATAM.
· H2 operating margin (ex RBP) +70bps, driven by gross margin expansion.


Commenting on these results, Rakesh Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"Our strategy for growth and outperformance through driving Health and Hygiene Powerbrands together with our focus on 16 Powermarkets is delivering results. We are pleased with the continued strength of our ENA - Europe and North America performance. And while emerging markets continue to slow, we delivered very strong results in India and China.

We continue to invest in our business to drive sustainable value creation. In 2013, we invested an incremental £100m behind building our brands. We also made substantial investments in building capabilities to compete and win in consumer health and emerging markets.

We made excellent progress with our acquired businesses. The effective integration of Schiff, BMS and Guilong, once again reinforces RB's proven strengths in acquiring high quality businesses and delivering superior shareholder value. I am especially pleased with our performance on Schiff brands. Our decision to roll out MegaRed in 20 markets in 2014 is a reflection of our confidence in the future potential of this category.

For our pharmaceutical business, RBP, the advantages of our Suboxone film are widely recognised by patients and physicians, and this gives our product strength as it faces branded challenge and generic price challenge. Our film share in the US exited the year at 68%, which is an exceptional result. As announced in October, the strategic review of RBP is underway. We will provide an update during the course of 2014.

Market conditions are more challenging now than at the beginning of last year, particularly in some emerging markets. However, we have confidence that our pipeline of innovations, Powerbrand roll-outs and brand investments will deliver another year of high quality growth. Accordingly, we are targeting net revenue growth of 4-5%1 and flat to moderate operating margin expansion. Both targets exclude RBP."

All time high @5,100.

1st Quarter Results

Highlights: Q1 (at constant rates)

· Total net revenue growth (ex RBP) of +5% and LFL net revenue growth (ex RBP) of +4%.

· Strong performance in ENA against tough comparatives.

· Sustained growth in LAPAC and RUMEA in challenging markets.

· Excellent growth and outperformance in Health. Strong innovation and sell-in offsetting tough comparatives.

· Hygiene reduced by strong Dettol / Lysol comparatives and planned trade de-stocking in Middle East.

· RBP - total US market volume film share 64% - excellent result. Strategic review progressing well. Capital markets solution is emerging as a strong option.

· Strong foreign exchange headwind of -9%, as signaled with full year numbers.