Reckitt Benckiser's revenue fell 6% in the quarter, to $ 3.9 billion

The multinational of hygiene and cleaning products, Reckitt Benckiser achieved net revenues of 2.34 billion British pounds (about US $ 3.96 billion) in the first quarter of 2014. The fall was 6% in comparison with the same period last year.
As well as several European multinationals with strong performance in emerging markets, the owner of the marks Vanish from washing powder lost with the devaluation of the currencies of the countries where it is present. It wasn't the currency effect, sales would have risen 3 percent.
The British group showed improvement only in the health segment of its operations. The rise in revenue of this Division, which includes the condom Durex, recently launched in Brazil, was 7%, peaking at 639 million pounds. In the area of hygiene and home care, however, 9% drop was registered in each, to 932 million pounds and 444 million pounds, respectively.
KY
"I'm very happy especially for the performance of the health area, which underpins growth because of our innovations," said Rakesh Kapoor, President of the company, in a statement. "Furthermore, the acquisition of [intimate lubricant] KY will give us a better position in this market both in the United States and Brazil."
Due to the unfavourable exchange rate, the areas that comprise Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, in addition to Russia, the Middle East and Africa, brought lower revenues during the quarter. However, excluding this effect, Europe and North America have the worst performance.
Revenue in Latin America and in Asia amounted to 589 million pounds — fall of 6%. In local currency, high would be 12%. In Russia, East and Africa, there were 12% lower, to 310 million pounds, but 4% increase in adjusted terms. Already in Europe and North America, the decline was 3% in turnover, to 1.23 billion pounds--or 2% advance, without the currency effect.
For the accumulated this year, Reckitt Benckiser hopes to achieve growth between 4% and 5% in sales, already discounting the currency effect. The operating margin must be equal to 2013, or take high.