Growth in core brands accelerates Full-year guidance upgraded New £1 billion buyback announced Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) was the biggest FTSE 100 gainer on 24 July, the shares rallying 10% to £55.46 after the consumer health and hygiene powerhouse upgraded its full-year guidance following a strong first-half performance from its 'Core Reckitt' business, which includes the Nurofen, Gaviscon,...

Non-core cleaning portfolio sold Special dividend to follow Focus on faster-growing Powerbrands Consumer health and hygiene company Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) has agreed to sell a majority chunk of its Essential Home cleaning products division, which houses brands including Cillit Bang, Calgon and Air Wick, for an enterprise value of up to US$4.8 billion or £3.6 billion. The portfolio is being...

Indivior to delist on 25 July Move aligns with US market focus Shares down 35% over one year Global pharmaceutical firm Indivior (INDV) is to become the latest company to delist from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in favour of the US market in the latest blow to Britain's embattled bourse. Headquartered across the pond in Richmond, Virginia, the opioid addiction treatment specialist will...

For years, consumer goods powerhouses Unilever (ULVR) and Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) were two of the UK stock market's more reliable performers, prized by investors for their global scale, predictable earnings, rising dividends and share buybacks generated off the back of their enviable brands. These brands conferred pricing power upon their businesses and underpinned their defensive earnings and...

Q1 like-for-like sales disappoint Essential Home sale may be delayed Full-year guidance reiterated Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) shares fell 4.7% after the consumer and household goods giant missed first-quarter like-for-like sales growth estimates. The maker of Dettol and Lysol cleaning products also said 'challenging' market conditions may impact its plans to exit the non-core Essential Home...

The sweeping tariffs unveiled by president Donald Trump on 2 April 2025, dubbed 'Liberation Day' by the administration, have significantly impacted financial markets, seemingly disrupting decades of economic norms, at least in the short term. We discuss the details and initial market reaction elsewhere in this magazine and it's only natural as an investor to be somewhat shaken by these...

The end of the tax year is now just a couple of weeks away so if you want to make use of any remaining ISA allowance your window to do so is rapidly closing.In this article the Shares team has put its collective heads together to identify a quintet of funds which we think are worthy of inclusion as part of a diversified portfolio. Some of these names may already be familiar but others are...

Soft UK economic figures did little to deter a market uplift on Friday, as Asian stocks are boosted on hopes of consumer spending stimulus.The FTSE 100 index traded up 59.66 points, 0.7%, at 8,600.72. The FTSE 250 was up 175.56 points, 0.9%, at 19,863.93, and the AIM All-Share was up 5.86 points, 0.9%, at 685.32.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.7% at 859.45, the Cboe UK 250 was up 1.0% at 17,326.55,...

Mixed annual resultsQ4 like-for-likes disappointEssential Home sale on trackReckitt Benckiser's (RKT) shares rallied 2.6% to £53.22 after the consumer and household goods giant reported better-than-expected full-year margins and reiterated its bold plans to restructure and simplify the business.This more than compensated for worse-than-expected fourth quarter sales from the Durex-to-Mucinex...

Stocks in London, Paris and Frankfurt made a slow start to the day on Friday morning, while FTSE 100-listed grocer Sainsbury's fell despite celebrating a bumper Christmas period.The FTSE 100 index opened down just 0.55 of a point at 8,319.14. The FTSE 250 was up just 9.28 points at 20,014.42, and the AIM All-Share lost only 0.23 of a point to sit at 719.76.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.1% at...

The FTSE 100 in London opened higher on Friday, eating into some of its post-UK budget weakness, while the pound gained some lost ground.Eyes turn state side later, with US jobs data to come, before the Federal Reserve decision next week, and a presidential election on Tuesday.Closer to home, Reckitt shares jumped on a favourable US legal ruling on infant formula. Airlines struggled as oil...

Q3 like-for-likes down 0.5%Robust performance from health brandsOperational separation on trackReckitt Benckiser's (RKT) shares bounced up 3.3% to £49.20, extending their recent rally off of five-year lows, after the consumer goods goliath's third quarter sales beat subdued expectations.An organic sales decline of 0.5% proved better than the 1.8% drop called for by consensus, as a beat from...

Homecare brands on the blockAirwick and Cillit Bang no longer coreSale could raise around £6 billionConsumer and household goods group Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) is pushing ahead with the sale of its homecare brands according to press reports.The news was applauded by shareholders, with the shares gaining as much as 150p or 3% to a three-month high of £47.60 in early trading. SIX BILLION...

There is a phrase in business ? 'shrink to greatness' ? meaning companies selling or demerging assets and focusing on what they do best.You might call it streamlining, others might say it is an admission that the previous strategy did not work and the company was too bloated.This trend is firmly in motion across the UK stock market with nine companies in the FTSE 100 either in the middle of...

With the UK economy seemingly headed for a 'soft landing' and interest rates set to fall at some point this year, more adventurous investors will be looking to add a little more risk to their portfolios.Given the UK market, and the mid-cap space in particular, is widely acknowledged to be cheap, the passive option would be to buy a mid-cap ETF (exchange-traded fund) such as the iShares FTSE...

From being one of the hottest properties in the market pre-pandemic, and having had a 'good crisis' as it were thanks to its hygiene division, global personal and household products group Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) now finds itself in the investment equivalent of the bargain bin.Shares in the Nurofen-to-Airwick-maker hit a new 10-year low this week after investors reacted badly to a US court...

Shares fall on read-across from US verdictLiabilities could total up to $1.5 billionNews muddies potential unit saleShares in hygiene, health and nutrition products powerhouse Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) sank as much as 10% to around £40.40, their lowest level since 2013 after a US jury found Abbot Laboratories' (ABT:NYSE) specialised infant formula caused an Illinois girl to develop a dangerous...

Business simplification plan unveiledHome care and nutrition brands up for saleFull year sales guidance cutShares in Reckitt Benckiser (RKT) rallied 4% to £45.86 after the consumer goods powerhouse unveiled plans to sell a raft of non-core homecare brands and said it was reviewing options for its troubled infant formula business.In a similar strategy to many of its rivals including Unilever...

Miners dragged the FTSE 100 into the red on Tuesday, as stocks in London finished the session lower at the close.The FTSE 100 index closed down 31.41 points, 0.4%, at 8,167.37. The FTSE 250 ended down 47.19 points, 0.2%, at 21,091.49, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.07 points, 0.4%, at 780.17.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.5% at 814.73, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.5% at 18,388.59, and the...

Return to positive like-for-like growthFull year guidance reiteratedLitigation worries cloud the outlookConsumer goods powerhouse Reckitt Benckiser (RTK) topped the FTSE gaining almost 5% to £14.44 after revealing better than expected first quarter like-for-like sales and confirming full year profit targets.The shares are down 18% year to date compared with a 5% gain in the FTSE 100 index...