Reckitt makes a clean sweep

Huge demand for cleaning products has been a boon for Reckitt Benckiser (RB), which boasts a portfolio of big-name disinfectant brands including Dettol and Lysol. For the first half to June, like-for-like sales within the group’s hygiene business escalated by 16 per cent to £2.7bn. Health, its other core business, achieved growth of almost a tenth to £4.2bn. In turn, operating profits surged by 14 per cent to £1.6bn, on a margin of 23.1 per cent – more than half a percentage point higher than the comparative period.