Reckitt Benckiser has reiterated its guidance for the current financial year, after delivering 1.3% like-for-like net core revenue growth of 1.3% in Q1 to £2.6bn, despite reporting a "challenging environment".

The health and hygiene consumer goods company, which owns brands including Nurofen, Air Wick and Dettol, said this growth was led by its emerging markets division, with double-digit growth in India and China, as well as mid-single-digit growth in non-seasonal brands in North America.

However, this growth was impacted by continued lower incidence rates through the end of cold and flu season, ongoing challenges in Europe and geopolitical issues, which disrupted its operations and supply in its Middle East business.

In its Europe division, Reckitt recorded a 4.2% drop in LFL growth in Q1 to £873m, as category growth rates remained challenging. However, it did state it had delivered encouraging initial results from its actions to drive market share growth for its Finish brand.

Furthermore, its North America LFL net revenue fell by 0.9% to £638m, with volume growth of 1.5%, and delivered a “very strong performance” across non-seasonal brands, driven by enhanced execution with key retailers.

Looking ahead, Reckitt has maintained its LFL net revenue outlook for its core business for the full-year, which is set to grow by between 4% and 5%.

It added that while acknowledging the uncertainty arising from the conflict in the Middle East, it expects to benefit from the reset of the cold and flu season in 2026, as well as the launch of “superior innovations” across its categories.

Furthermore, it expects continued strong performance in emerging markets, led by China and India, where “structural growth” underpins its expectations of sustainable high-single-digit growth in the division over the medium term.

Following the announcement, shares in Reckitt fell by over 5%.

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Aarin Chiekrie, said that the firm has had a tough start for the year, as its share price has fallen by more than a fifth in the year to date.

He concluded: "There are some Reckitt-specific reasons that can explain some of the decline, like stranded costs from the separation of its Essential Home business weighing on profitability, and a higher-than-expected tax rate this year. But the longer-term picture needs to be kept in mind.

"The hygiene and health company owns household names such as Dettol, Vanish, Nurofen, and many others. These are names that consumers trust, giving Reckitt the power to push through higher prices over time. And stripping out sales of seasonal products over the first quarter, group LFL revenue growth was a much healthier 3.1%. With new products launching and initiatives underway in struggling regions, full-year revenue growth is still expected to land between 4-5%."

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