Reckitt Benckiser, the world's biggest household cleaning-products maker, beat forecasts with a 33 percent rise in second-quarter profits, thanks to cost cuts and new product sales, and is set to exceed its 2007 targets.
The British maker of Cillit Bang cleaner, Finish/Calgonit dishwasher products and Lysol disinfectants posted second-quarter net profit of 216 million pounds ($444.4 million) on Wednesday, ahead of analysts' forecasts of 184 million-203 million pounds.
Chief Executive Bart Becht said growth had exceeded his expectations and he aimed to fuel growth in the second half with a string of new product such as Dettol herbal soap and Vanish fabric stain removers that stop colours running.
He added the group had a very good first half, with like-for-like sales growth of 10 percent, and will probably exceed its targets of 7 to 8 percent sales growth and net profit in the mid-teens percentage, at constant exchange rates.
"We have had a very strong first-half, with above-market growth across all our regions and product categories," Becht told a conference call, but he cautioned that second-half growth would be compared with strong growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2006.