Reckitt Benckiser looking at acquisitions in India

KOLKATA: Fast moving consumer goods major Reckitt Benckiser (India) on Friday said it was looking at acquiring new brands in India to make its presence felt in unrepresented areas.
"We are certainly looking at acquiring brands in India. In fact it was one of the reasons for moving towards getting our shares delisted from stock markets after parent company Reckitt Benckiser''s holding in the Indian outfit crossed 90 per cent," Reckitt Benckiser (India) Managing Director Chander Mohan Sethi said here.
Sethi, who is also the group''s regional director - South Asia, said apart from looking at acquiring brands, they were also planning to launch a number of new products from their global portfolio.
He, however, refused to divulge which of the brands they were planning to launch in India or looking for acquisition.
Commenting on the company''s future outlook, Sethi said they were optimistic about a good growth during the current year, though last year ended December, 2002 had seen relatively flat topline growth
Asked whether they were keeping fingers crossed in view of prediction of a below normal rainfall in the country for second consecutive year, Sethi said company had a very large portfolio of brands and so it was optimistic about growth.
"We, however, feel that overall economy will determine company''s actual growth in 2003 and we will focus on our power brands like Dettol, Harpic and Mortein, which has been lately doing well. We have also relaunched Disprin," he said.