Reckitt Benckiser sees pricing squeeze after worst year on record
London — After a cyberattack and a botched product launch spoiled Reckitt Benckiser Group’s 2017, a pricing squeeze threatens to make this year almost as tough. The Slough, Britain-based maker of Durex condoms and Nurofen painkillers said comparable sales will rise by only 2% to 3% in 2018, and profitability will be curtailed by deflationary conditions in the consumer-goods business. That followed the worst year in the company’s history, during which sales stagnated. The stock fell as much as 6.6% in London, the biggest intraday decline since 2011. "I know we’ve had a tough 12 months from a share-price point of view," CEO Rakesh Kapoor said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "As I look forward to 2018, I think it’s going to be a better year for RB and that’s how we are guiding the market." Reckitt Benckiser said it expected higher commodity costs and downward pressure on prices of its products to continue in the near term — a problem faced by companies across the consumer-goods land...
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