Reckitt ‘focusing on staff safety’ amid Iran war as prices impact unclear

Reckitt Benckiser’s boss has said the household goods giant is focusing on the safety of its 400-strong workforce in the Middle East as the Iran conflict enters a sixth day.

Chief executive Kris Licht said it was “too early” to say whether supply and prices would be affected by the fast “evolving” situation in the Middle East.

He said the firm’s immediate priority was to look after staff safety and well-being across its operations in the region.

The group – whose brands include Strepsils throat sweets, Nurofen painkillers and Dettol – has closed a factory in Bahrain because of safety reasons and instructed all workers in the region to work from home following the start of the war last week.

Mr Licht told the Press Association: “Our overwhelming focus at the moment is on the safety and well-being of our employees and their families.”

He said it was “to early to specify” on the impact of the conflict and disruption to supply routes.

“It’s significant for the people that work in these markets and live in these communities and we want to do everything we can to support them and their well-being,” he said.

The comments came as the group cautioned that a weak cold and flu season globally and challenging trading in Europe would knock its performance at the start of 2026.

Shares in the firm fell 6% as the gloomy outlook overshadowed 2025 figures showing pre-tax profits jumped to £3.8 billion, up from £2.1 billion in 2024 thanks to a 5% rise in like-for-like sales.

Underlying profits rose 5.2% to £3.3 billion on a constant currency basis.

Its operations in Europe saw sales fall 1.4%, impacted by lower demand for cold and flu-related treatments, and a “challenging consumer environment”.

The tougher trading backdrop was expected to continue in 2026, it said.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said investors would be focusing on what the current conflict would mean for the firm.

He said: “Reckitt’s results couldn’t come at a worse time, through no fault of the company of course.

“But investors will take all the assumptions in the outlook with a big pinch of salt, given that prices across the globe are likely to take a big lurch higher thanks to the situation in the Middle East.”