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/

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.

Reckitt Benckiser Says Its On Track to Meet its Goals
By Matthew Boyle Apr 16, 2014 8:31 AM GMT

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB/), the maker of Lysol disinfectants, said a separate stock listing is a “strong option” for its pharmaceutical business as it posted first-quarter revenue growth that matched analysts’ estimates.

Non-pharmaceutical sales rose 4 percent, excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency moves, the Slough, England-based company said today in a statement, matching the median estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. A spinoff or initial public offering of the pharmaceutical unit, rather than a sale of the business, “is emerging” as a possible option, the company said.

“This news signifies the difficulty that Reckitt is having in finding a trade buyer,” Exane BNP Paribas analyst Eamonn Ferry said in an e-mail. “We would not be surprised if this is the case.”

Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Kapoor, faced with slowing growth in some emerging markets and prolonged weakness in Europe, is reviewing the pharmaceutical unit in order to push further into consumer health care through acquisitions and new product development. The company is the frontrunner to buy Merck & Co.’s over-the-counter drugs business, people with knowledge of the matter have said, which would push its health division to more than one-third of sales from about 30 percent.

Reckitt Benckiser shares rose as much as 2 percent to 4,950 pence in London trading. The stock has advanced 2.5 percent so far this year.
Pharmaceutical Revenue

Revenue at the pharmaceutical unit, which makes the opioid-dependency drug Suboxone, declined 11 percent in the quarter as generic versions, introduced last year, continue to grab sales. The market share of Suboxone’s newer film variant, which has narrower profit margins than the tablet that the company discontinued last year, declined by 4 percentage points to 64 percent, the company said.

The maker of French’s mustard said it would provide more information on the Suboxone strategic review when it reports half-year results in July. An April 4 note from JPMorgan said a spinoff of the business “looks increasingly most likely,” and valued the business at 1.3 billion pounds ($2.2 billion).

The company reiterated its forecast for revenue to increase 4 percent to 5 percent at constant currency rates, excluding the pharmaceuticals unit. Total sales at constant rates of exchange increased 3 percent to 2.37 billion pounds ($4 billion), compared with the 2.38 billion-pound average estimate.

Sales at the company’s health division rose 11 percent, a “hugely impressive” figure, according to analyst Graham Jones at Panmure Gordon.

Sales in Europe and North America rose 2 percent, helped by new products and increased distribution of health brands like Scholl footcare and Durex condoms. The U.S. had a “tougher” quarter, the company said, hurt by comparisons to growth in last year’s first quarter.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Boyle in London at mboyle20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net David Risser

Nice work if you can get it - Director/PDMR Shareholding

Half Yearly Report

Highlights: Half Year (HY) unless otherwise stated

· LFL net revenue growth +3% (+4% ex RBP) driven by excellent consumer health performance.

· Q2 LFL net revenue growth +3% (+4% ex RBP).

· Gross margin improvement +60bps to 59.3%.

· Continued strong investment in brand equity (BEI) with improved efficiency.

· Adjusted operating margin (ex RBP) +40bps to 20.8%.

· Continuing operating margin expansion targeted for second half (ex RBP).

· Adjusted net income -4% (+7% constant); adjusted diluted EPS of 113.4p (-4%).

· Strong free cash flow generation of £729m, a conversion rate of 90% of net income.

· The Board declares an interim dividend of 60p per share (2013: 60p).

· RB Pharmaceuticals strategic review - pursuing a UK listed de-merger.

Interim Management Statement

Highlights:

· YTD LFL growth +3% (+4% ex RBP) driven by strong consumer health performance.

· Q3 LFL growth +2% (+3% ex RBP) - strong growth in RUMEA, offset by slower markets in South East Asia and LATAM. Robust ENA performance in tough markets.

· RBP expected to be demerged prior to year end.

· Full year targets reiterated: revenue (at lower end of range) and margin (continuing margin expansion).

Proposed Demerger of the RB Pharma business

Following the announcement made by Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB) on 28th July 2014 that it was pursuing a demerger of the RB Pharmaceuticals (RBP) business with a separate UK listing, RB today announces the detailed proposed timetable for the demerger (the Demerger).

· New demerged RBP company, to be called Indivior PLC (Indivior), will be UK domiciled and admitted to the premium listing segment of the Official List and traded on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities.
· RB circular to shareholders and Indivior prospectus will be published later today setting out the background to, and reasons for, the Demerger and detailed information on Indivior.

· RB General Meeting to approve the Demerger will be held on 11 December 2014.

· If the Demerger proceeds, RB Shareholders who are registered on the RB share register at the Demerger record date will receive one Indivior ordinary share for each RB ordinary share held.

· Demerger expected to complete and Indivior shares to commence trading on 23 December 2014.


The Board of RB considers that the Demerger is in the best interests of both RB and Indivior and will result in a stronger future for both RB and Indivior, with the Boards of each company focused on developing their respective businesses into leaders in their specific sectors. In particular, the Board of RB considers that the profile and potential risks and rewards of Indivior, as a specialty pharmaceuticals company, will be better understood as a standalone listed business. RB will continue its focus as a consumer health and hygiene company.

Final Results

Highlights: Full Year (ex RBP unless stated)

· Total and LFL net revenue growth of +4% - in line with targets.
· Strong ENA (Europe and North America) performance LFL +2% and significantly improved growth from RUMEA (Russia, Middle East and Africa) LFL +11%. LAPAC (Latin America and Asia Pacific) grew LFL +5%
· High quality, Health & Hygiene led growth of +5%.
· Strong gross margin expansion +100bps to 57.7%, driven by mix, pricing, and cost optimisation initiatives.
· Increased investment in brand equity. BEI +£30m (constant) -10bps.
· Strong (adjusted) operating profit growth of +11% (constant). Margins up +160bps to 24.7%.
· Adjusted net income +4% (+14% constant): adjusted diluted EPS of 230.5p (+4%).
· Net debt reduced by £0.6bn to £1.5bn (2013: £2.1bn). Free cash flow circa 100% of net income.
· A further £500m, in addition to our existing c.£300m share buyback programme in 2015.
· RB top-ranked company in UK, #7 overall in Global 100 index, one of the world's leading sustainability indices for global equity investors
· The Board recommends a final dividend of 79p per share. Total dividend for 2014 139p (+1% versus 2013).

Highlights: Q4 / H2
· Q4 net revenue LFL growth +5% - broad based growth from Health, Hygiene and Home.
· H2 operating margin +260bps (+140bps recurring), driven by gross margin expansion and cost efficiencies.
· Demerger of RBP / Indivior successfully completed.


Other

· Supercharge project announced - to drive sustainable operating margin expansion off 2014 base. Estimated £100-150m annualised savings. Associated exceptional costs of approximately £200m.