According to one analyst, Reckitt Benckiser is “expensive defensive”. This is one of those consolidators among global consumer products groups that seems to grind out better revenues and margins year after year no matter what is happening in the wide range of markets it serves.
Indeed, Reckitt is among the better performers within that pack. It has been investing heavily in healthcare, which can only grow in emerging markets because one of the first things that people spend their money on when they get their hands on any is improving their health.
The company is focused on its 19 so-called “powerbrands”, market leaders such as Durex, Dettol and Lemsip, where investment is funnelled. Reckitt does not have the sprawl of second-tier products that have held