Reckitt Benckiser, the consumer goods company which owns health and hygiene brands such as Dettol and Strepsils, saw group sales make a modest uptick in the first quarter of the year, despite a decline in the European market.

For the quarter ended 31 March 2025, the FMCG giant’s group sales edged up 1.1% to £3.6bn, while core sales increased 3.1% to £2.6bn.

Across its main divisions, germ protection experienced net sales growth of 7.5% driven by double-digit growth from Dettol, while intimate wellness saw sales soar by 16.6%. However, self-care net sales declined by 3.6% on a like-for-like basis and household care sales dipped by 0.2% over the period.

Emerging markets – which accounted for 40% of Reckitt’s core sales in the quarter – saw sales soar by 10.7% on a like-for-like basis to £1.04bn, with a 6.8% rise in volume growth.

However, Europe – which made up 43% of core sales – saw net sales decline by 1.7% on a like-for-like basis to £898m. Despite this, the Dettol owner experienced good market share recovery with positive momentum on share gains, against a backdrop of slowing market growth through the quarter.

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North American net sales also declined 0.9% to £688m and volume fell by 1.8% due to retailer destocking.

Reckitt chief executive Kris Licht said: “We delivered a solid first quarter driven by Core Reckitt with continued strong growth in emerging markets. We continue to execute against our strategy to make Reckitt a more efficient, world-class consumer health and hygiene company, driven by increased investment, innovation, and our Fuel for Growth programme.”

Looking ahead, Reckitt is targeting a 3% to 4% rise in like-for-like net sales growth in the core business, with a balanced delivery across both halves of the year.

In the second quarter, it expects core growth to be led by emerging markets, with low single digit growth in Europe and low single digit decline in North America. However, Reckitt expects North America to return to growth in the second half of the year.

Overall, for 2025, the business expect group like for like net sales growth of +2% to +4%.

Licht added: “Our portfolio of high-growth, high-margin Powerbrands underpins our resilience, and we maintain our outlook for full year 2025 whilst recognising the more challenging macroeconomic outlook.”