New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) Expressing confidence in the Indian market, British FMCG major Reckitt expects it to play a pivotal role, with the expansion of distribution reach continuing to drive growth for its power brands.
Reckitt, which owns power brands such as Dettol, Lysol, Mucinex, Finish, and Durex, said while the economic backdrop is uncertain, it expects a step-up in performance in Core Reckitt in the second quarter and beyond and has maintained guidance for Core Reckitt in 2026.
"This will be driven by sequential growth from our market-leading Powerbrands as we continue to launch superior innovation, improve our execution across Europe and continue to drive strong growth in China, India and our non-season North America business," said Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht in the latest earnings call.
Reckitt's India business reported "double-digit growth" in the first quarter of 2026, driven by strong growth in its key brands, such as Dettol and Durex, and expansion of its coverage area.
When asked about the Indian market, Reckitt CEO Licht said: "... you can see, India is accelerating." Besides, China, which has also remained very strong for 11 quarters for Reckitt, he expects it to "continue to be strong".
India, where Reckitt operates with several key brands, is among its top three priority markets.
In the first quarter, Core Reckitt delivered 3.1 per cent like-for-like growth.
"This was led by high single-digit growth in emerging markets with China and India, both delivering double-digit growth and Dettol continuing to perform strongly in both countries, driven by innovation," he said.
Its Core Reckitt includes 11 high-growth and high-margin brands such as Dettol, Lysol, Durex, and Harpic, operating in hygiene, health, and nutrition categories. They together drive over 80 per cent of core net revenue.
Reckitt, which is expanding its distribution in the Indian market, expects its power brands to lead the growth.
“In India, our expanded distribution reach will continue to drive growth for our market-leading power brands,” Chief Executive Officer Kris Licht said.
Reckitt has maintained its LFL net revenue guidance and said it expects a "continued strong growth" across China and India, among others.
"Our Emerging Markets business, even with these headwinds, is delivering right in that range of high single digits, and we continue to see really strong growth coming through both China and India," said Reckitt Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director Shannon Eisenhardt, while responding to a query.
He further said: "So we are confident that we can deliver against this acceleration that gets that 3.1 when you exclude the season up into Core Reckitt delivering that 4 to 5 per cent growth over the course of the year."