Reckitt completes sale of Russian hygiene business to Arnest after receiving required approvals
Key Facts
Reckitt said on November 12, 2026, that it had completed the sale of its Russian hygiene business to Arnest Management after obtaining all required approvals. The deal closes the divestment process that began with the sale agreement in July, but does not represent a full exit from the Russian market, as the company said it is retaining its health business there. The divested business includes hygiene products and its local operating assets, while Reckitt said its health business would continue supplying consumer products. Completion of the sale will change how the group presents like-for-like revenue growth, alongside an expected accounting loss. The company said the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on adjusted operating profit or adjusted earnings per share for 2026.
Reckitt agreed on July 24, 2026, to sell the hygiene business to Arnest, saying at the time that completion was expected in the second half of the year, subject to customary conditions, including UK regulatory approvals. The final announcement followed the completion of the required approvals, bringing the transaction to a close without a change in the buyer. The Russian hygiene business represented about 1% of Reckitt’s core net revenue in the year ended December 31, 2025, according to the company. The business includes a production facility near Moscow and intellectual property rights for locally owned brands. About 400 local employees were also expected to transfer to the buyer, while the deal did not include intellectual property for Reckitt’s global brands.
Following completion, Reckitt will exclude the Russian hygiene business from like-for-like net revenue growth rates, in line with the company’s policy on divestments completed during the year. The company restated its third-quarter 2026 figures on this basis, reporting growth of 9.8% for Emerging Markets, 3.9% for Reckitt Core and 3.8% for Reckitt Core including M&A. These figures reflect growth rates after excluding the divested business, so the comparison basis used to present the performance of the three groups differs. For the year to the end of the third quarter, restated growth was 10.2% for Emerging Markets, 3.5% for Reckitt Core and 3.4% for Reckitt Core including M&A. The restatement provides a measure for the periods cited based on the business perimeter after the divestment.
Reckitt expects to record an after-tax loss of about £175 million in its results for the year ended December 31, 2026, including about £125 million in its results for the first half ended June 30, 2026. The company attributed the limited recoverable amount to restrictions on exits from Russia and the deal’s expected economics. It said, however, that the divestment is not expected to have a material impact on delivery of the group’s adjusted operating profit or adjusted earnings per share in 2026. This distinguishes the accounting loss associated with the sale of the business from the company’s estimate of the deal’s impact on the year’s adjusted earnings measures. The business represented about 1% of Reckitt’s core revenue in 2025, according to the company’s disclosure.
Before completion, Reckitt said changes in international sanctions affecting the Russian hygiene business had reduced Emerging Markets like-for-like revenue growth by about 200 basis points in the first quarter of 2026, and that it expected a similar impact to continue until the divestment was completed. In its third-quarter results, the company lowered its 2026 like-for-like revenue growth outlook for Reckitt Core to a range of 3.5% to 4.5%. It attributed this to Lysol manufacturing disruption and a slowdown in the vitamins, minerals and supplements category in China during the third quarter. Reckitt is scheduled to host an investor event on its North American business at its New Jersey headquarters on November 19, 2026. In trading on November 11, its shares traded under the ticker RBGLY closed at $15.17, after closing at $15.24 on November 10 and $15.13 on November 9, according to EL7 data.