Dettol and Durex maker appoints new boss and hikes prices

The maker of household brands like Dettol, Vanish and Durex condoms has appointed a new chief executive, as it revealed a jump in sales after hiking prices.

Reckitt announced the departure of Nicandro Durante, who has been the interim chief executive of the global firm for seven months, and the appointment of former Pepsico manager and company insider Kris Licht.

Mr Licht, who has worked at Reckitt since 2019, will take on the role as designate from May 1 and take over as chief executive by the end of the year in a “seamless and uninterrupted transition”.

He is set to take home a salary of £1.1 million by the end of the year, plus an annual bonus that targets 120% of the base salary and a maximum of three-and-a-half times that, dependant on the group’s performance.

It is one of the best-paid chief executive positions in the FTSE 100.

The announcement comes as Reckitt, which also owns health brands like Nurofen and Strepsils, revealed it saw its revenues grow by nearly 8% to £3.9 billion in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2022.

It came as Reckitt’s products increased in price by an average of 12.4% over the period, after the firm hiked its prices last year.

However, people bought less products, with the volume of sales declining by 4.5%.

In its nutrition division, which includes baby formula brand Enfamil, prices went up by more than 15% over the three-month period as it continued to benefit from shortages of formula in the US.

In Europe, revenue growth was driven up by sales of Durex, and cleaning brands Finish and Vanish, Reckitt said.

It also marked the successful launches of new Air Wick products, Dettol long-lasting germ protection, and Durex Invisible condoms.

Mr Durante said: “We have made a strong start to the year across each of our business units and geographies reflecting further delivery from the investments we have made.

“We have announced today that Kris Licht, current president of our health global business unit, has been appointed as chief executive officer designate and will succeed me as chief executive officer.

“Having played a pivotal role in both the transformation strategy and the significant turnaround of our health global business unit over the last three years, Kris is the right leader to take Reckitt on the next stage of its exciting journey.

“I look forward to working with Kris to deliver a seamless and uninterrupted transition.”