Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) Limited

Last modified by Wilton Risenhoover on 2022/07/06 01:16

Summary

  • Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Ltd. (DSE: RECKITTBEN, CSE: RECKITTBEN), a subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc., started its journey in the South Asian region in 1962 as Robinson’s Foods (Pakistan) Limited.
  • After a merger between Reckitt and Colman Bangladesh Ltd. and Benckiser, the company was renamed Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Limited (RBBL) in 2000.
  • RBBL has made its stock market debut in 1987 by getting listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). In 1995, RBBL started trading in Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).
  • The company has achieved 29.27% sales growth in FY20 as against the previous year and also expanded its gross profit margin to 56.55% in FY20 as against 54.55% in the previous year.
  • RBBL has Received the prestigious ICAB National Award and Supply Chain Excellence Award in 2020.

Company Overview

Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Ltd. (RBBL) is a subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc.- one of the largest household products manufacturers in the world. The global giant has started its journey in the south Asian region in 1962 as Robinson’s Foods (Pakistan) Limited. At that time the only product the company had was “Robinson’s Patent Barley”. Because of huge consumer demand, the company then started to import and sell other products in this region. After independence, the companyReckitt_(2021).svg.png started manufacturing different household products in its own plant. In 1972, the company was renamed Robinson’s Foods (Bangladesh) Limited which was again renamed Robinson’s Bangladesh Limited in 1978. The merger of Robinson’s Bangladesh Limited with Reckitt and Colman in 1985 changed the company's name again and named it Reckitt and Colman Bangladesh Ltd. Another merger with Benckiser took place in 1999 and eventually the company was renamed Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Limited (RBBL) in 2000.1

According to a report published by RBBL on 31 July 2021, 5.63% of the company’s share is owned by individuals, 82.96% of its share is held by Reckitt Benckiser Ltd.(UK), Govt. owns 3.77% share, institutions own 4.55% share and 3.09% of the company’s share is owned by foreign investors.

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Reckitt has a vision of creating a world where people are healthy and can lead a better life. To achieve this motto the company is passionately delivering better solutions to its consumers, as part of its mission. The company basically focuses on the small issues consumers face in daily life and then comes up with brilliant solutions to those problems. This vision of Reckitt and its continuous product development has made it one of the leading consumer goods brands in the world. The company has more than 15 successful brands in the global market.2

However, Reckitt Benckiser follows a local approach of market practice in the Bangladesh region. RBBL focuses on the needs and demands of Bangladeshi people and based on that it produces and sells some particular brands in the market. Currently, RBBL is manufacturing and marketing 11 brands in Bangladesh. The brands have been illustrated below:

icon.pngDettol

icon.pngHarpic

icon.pngTrix

icon.pngMr. Brasso

icon.pngRobin-Liquid Blue

icon.pngVeet

icon.pngRobinson’s Barley

icon.pngAirwick

icon.pngDesprin

icon.pngStrepsil

icon.pngDurex

RBBL’s one of the most popular brands Harpic had an 85% market share in the Bangladesh toilet cleaning market in 2019. RBBL’s another brand Dettol was recognized as the 3rd most preferred brand in soap class in 2018 by Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF).3

Currently, RBBL is trading in two stock exchanges of Bangladesh-Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). The company made its stock market debut in 1987 by getting listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). In 1995, RBBL started trading in Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE). The market category of the company is “A”. Due to the pandemic, the company’s sales have surged and eventually, RBBL has seen 29.27% growth in 2020 than the previous year.

Journey of RBBL

RBBL has received the prestigious ICAB National Award in 2020 while securing the third position in the manufacturing category.4 In the same year, RBBL has also received the prestigious Bangladesh Supply Chain Excellence Award. In 2019, RBBL’s Harpic has been recognized as the most loved brand in the toilet cleaning category by Bangladesh Brand Forum (BBF).5

Industry Analysis

RBBL is an active player in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) industry of Bangladesh. FMCG is also known as consumer packaged goods(CPG). These products are sold quickly and at a relatively low cost. The products include toiletries, packaged foods, dry goods, over-the-counter drugs, beverages, and other consumables.

In the ocean of volatile industries, FMCG industry is considered to be the most resilient to economic shocks, which has already been proved during the pandemic. The global FMCG market is expected to reach $1.54 trillion by 2025. In Bangladesh, the consumption expenditure has clocked at 97% of the national income as of 2015 while the domestic annual consumption stands at over $130 billion. Thus, Bangladesh represents a goldmine in the FMCG industry.

FMCG companies in Bangladesh by type

Key drivers of the industry

  • Rise of the middle class: Bangladesh has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The country experienced an exemplary record of economic growth and poverty reduction in the past decade. Approximately, 2 million Bangladeshis are joining the ranks of the middle and affluent class (MAC) each year and the number is expected to be tripled by 2025.6
  • Rural to urban immigration: Bangladesh is an overpopulated country where most of the job opportunities are centralised in a few urban areas. Consequently, more and more people have to come to big cities for their livelihood and the number is only set to increase. Thus, most of the consumption of the FMCG industry originates from these urban areas.
  • Abundance of raw materials and cheap labor: Bangladesh has a favorable geographical feature that made the country a goldmine of raw materials. Moreover, the cheap labor of this overpopulated country has always attracted foreign companies of the FMCG industry to start operating in this region.
  • Export processing zones (EPZ): EPZs are basically designed to diversify a country’s exports and create job opportunities. Bangladesh has eight EPZs that are impressively working for ensuring the country’s economic growth and poverty reduction. Thus, the EPZs are paving the way to increase export and eventually contributing to the country's FMCG industry.

Key Areas within the Industry

FMCG is a huge industry that encompasses a wide array of product segments. The most common and commercially important market segments within Bangladesh are food & beverages, personal care, and household care.

Food and beverages: Food and beverages is one of the growing sectors of Bangladesh. It includes all the companies that are involved in processing the agricultural raw materials and transforming them into consumer food products. The industry employs a 2.45% labor force in Bangladesh. The food processing sector of Bangladesh is a $4.5 billion industry according to some industry analysts. Some of the key players of this sector are Pran, Nestle, Coca-cola, Square Food & Beverage Ltd., Akij Food & Beverage Ltd., and others.

Personal and home care: The personal care sector of Bangladesh was valued at $1.23 billion in 2020 which is expected to reach $2.12 billion by 2027. Moreover, the industry shows an incremental revenue growth opportunity of $960 million from 2020 to 2027. The major players of both the personal and home care industries are Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Limited (RBBL), P&G, Marico Bangladesh Limited, and others.

Financial Performance

While the Covid-19 pandemic has caused limitless hurdles for most of the industries, health and hygiene products have seen a surge in demand. Consequently, companies like Reckitt have experienced exponential sales growth during the pandemic. In the FY20, RBBL has achieved 29.27% sales growth as against the previous year with a turnover of BDT 5,334 Million.  Reckitt’s key brands- Dettol, Harpic, and Lysol have mainly driven this growth. In spite of the huge price hike of freight cost and some key raw materials in the international market, RBBL managed to expand its gross profit margin to 56.55% in FY20 as against 54.55% in the previous year. The profit after tax of the company for the year ended 31 December 2020 was BDT 738,887,624 while the figure was BDT 619,261,257 in the previous year. The cash and cash equivalents (including fixed deposit investments with bank) of the company at the end of 2020 was BDT 1,789 million against BDT 1,341 million in 2019, an increase of BDT 448 million.7

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RBBL has reported earnings per share (EPS) of BDT 156.38 for FY20 which shows a significant increase as against the previous year (BDT 131.06). The average EPS per quarter during FY20 was 39.09%. The Net Asset Value (NAV) per share of the company was BDT 170.95 and the net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was BDT 290.57 for the year ended 31 December 2020. Moreover, the company’s P/E ratio and Debt Equity ratio were 25.88 and 3.02 respectively.

BDBL has reported a 1400% cash dividend (BDT 140.00 per share) for FY20. This is the highest ever dividend declaration of BDBL as well as any other individual company listed on the country’s stock market till now according to market insiders. Previously the company has disbursed 1250% cash dividend in 2019, 700% in 2018, 790% in 2017, 775% in 2016, and 650% cash dividend in 2015.

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Business Overview

RBBL has two strategic divisions that contain different kinds of products. These are- the household and toiletries division and the pharmaceuticals division. As the divisions require different technologies and marketing strategies, they are managed separately. While the household and toiletries segment contributes 92% of the company’s business, the pharmaceuticals segment contributes 8% only according to a report published by EBL securities in 2019. The company had discontinued its low-margin brand “Disprin” manufacturing in 2018. The key brands of RBBL’s household and toiletries segment are Harpic, Lizol, Trix, Mr. Brasso, Vanish, Dettol, and Veet, and the key brands of the pharmaceuticals segment are Gaviscon and Durex.

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Harpic, one of the flagship brands of Reckitt, is leading the toilet cleaning market of Bangladesh with 85% market share as of 2019. The major competitors of this brand are Clean Master- Kohinoor Chemical Company Ltd, Vanish- ACI Consumer Brands, and Shakti- Square Toiletries. Dettol, another key brand of RBBL holds a 7-8% share of the health soap market of Bangladesh as of 2019. The major competitors of RBBL in the bathing soap market are Unilever Bangladesh Limited (50% market share), Kohinoor Chemicals Co. Ltd, Keya Cosmetic ltd, Square Toiletries Ltd, and ACI (Cosmetics) Ltd. Mortein, the blockbuster brand of Reckitt, once was the market leader with 87% market share. But Due to the shrink of coil market and surge in demand for local non-branded effective but deleterious coils, Reckitt lost its market share and discontinued the brand in Bangladesh.

Recent Events

In the third quarter of FY21, the gross profit of RBBL was 706,208,000, while the figure was 779,688 for the same period of FY20. In 2020, the demand for hygiene products had significantly increased due to Covid-19; but in 2021, with the covid situation normalizing, the demand has dropped and so did the sales of hygiene products according to the interim financial statement of the company published on 30 September, 2021. However, the net operating expense has reduced by 9% (for three quarters) as the management decided to cut the expenses on marketing and advertising. The after-tax profit of RBBL was BDT 203,975,000 in Q3 of FY21, hich is more than that of FY20. Moreover, the interim financial statement of the company shows that the company’s EPS has increased by 15% due to lower marketing expenses and a reduction in corporate tax rates by 2.5%.8

The last trading price of RBBL on DSE and CSE was BDT 5,683 and BDT 5720 respectively.


  1. ^ https://www.reckitt.com/about-us/reckitt-bangladesh/
  2. ^ https://www.reckitt.com/brands/
  3. ^ http://www.eblsecurities.com/AM_Resources/AM_ResearchReports/EquityReport/Valuation%20Report%20on%20RBBL,2019.pdf
  4. ^ https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/36-corporate-companies-get-icab-national-award-2915036
  5. ^ https://www.newagebd.net/article/92952/home-grown-brands-bag-4-top-positions-in-best-brand-award
  6. ^ https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/burgeoning-growth-of-the-middle-class-1511362584
  7. ^ https://www.reckitt.com/media/9026/rb-bangladesh-annual-report-and-financial-statements-2020.pdf
  8. ^ https://www.reckitt.com/media/9755/financial-statements-for-the-period-ended-30-september-2021.pdf
Created by Md. Touhidul Islam on 2022/01/04 16:40
     
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