Reckitt Benckiser (LON: RB) has reported a 13.3% like-for-like growth in the third quarter.
Sales in hygiene and health soared over the period, thanks to its cleaning and air freshening brands as people are spending more time at home.
Hygiene saw a 19% growth compared to the same period last year, while its health arm, which includes its Durex brand was up 12% thanks to recovery post-lockdown.
‘Stay at home’ dynamics and social distancing have had significant effects on some of our brands. For example, Finish and Air Wick have benefited from consumers spending more time at home,” said Reckitt Benckiser in a trading update.
Commenting on the increase in sexual wellbeing products, the group said: “Following a more challenging first half of the year, relaxations of social distancing regulations resulted in improved demand for our sexual well-being products, including Durex, which saw double digit growth in revenue. This has been particularly pronounced in markets where the rate of pandemic infection has materially improved.”
The company already saw a strong start to the year and exceeded analyst expectations.
Laxman Narasimhan, the Reckitt Benckiser chief executive, said: “I feel very good about our performance so far.
“The growth has been led by our hygiene business. We are seeing behaviour changes in our categories… We are seeing 80% of consumers adopting better hygiene practices.
“We are uniquely placed to help tackle the challenges the world is facing,” he added.
Thanks to the strong trading update, the group saw shares (LON: RB) increase by 1.4% to 7.306,00 (1319GMT).