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Reckitt shares take a dousing as Becht quits

By This Is Money
Updated: 10:05 EDT, 14 April 2011

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Shares in household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser slumped 6% today as investors received the news that chief executive Bart Becht is to retire this September.

Bart Becht: Received record-breaking £90m in pay and shares in 2009

Becht, 54, has led the group since it was formed from the 1999 merger of Britain's Reckitt & Colman and Dutch group Benckiser, which he previously headed.

He will stay on as a part-time adviser for a year after handing over to Rakesh Kapoor, a Reckitt veteran who joined its Indian operation in 1987.

The shares were down 204p at 3,162p as the City digested the surprise announcement.

It follows hard on the heels of the departure of Reckitt's finance chief Colin Day, who became chief executive of speciality plastic and fibre products Filtrona in January and was replaced by Liz Doherty.

'It was one of the most highly regarded management teams, I would have said in the FTSE,' commented Martin Dolan, analyst at broker Espirito Santo, to Reuters. 'The fact that they've both gone now I think is basically going to cause some people to reassess.'

Becht received a record-breaking £90m in pay and share awards in 2009. He got a far smaller pay package last year, but still took home more than £18m after long-term performance deals cashed in on top of his £4.2m in pay, benefits and bonus.

Kapoor will enjoy a similar pay structure, although his basic salary is expected to be less than Becht's £1.03m a year.

A spokesman confirmed that Becht will be paid a pro rata amount of his current salary for his part-time advisory work from September 1.

Reckitt, which is behind brands including Cillit Bang and Dettol, is one of the world's biggest household goods firms, with around 27,000 employees and operations in 60 countries.

Becht commented that he had been 'honoured' to run the company.

'After 16 years in the role, I believe now is the right time to retire. We have the strongest senior management cadre we have ever had, our new chief financial officer has bedded-in excellently and our SSL integration is on track and by September will be all but completed.

He added that his successor had an 'outstanding track record of performance'.

Kapoor, aged 52, is currently executive vice president of global category development. But his career at Reckitt spans roles in India, Asia and Europe and he was involved in the firm's recent SSL and Paras India acquisitions.

Married with two children, he lives in Buckinghamshire, close to Reckitt's headquarters in Slough.

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