reckitt benckiser group said wednesday that pretax profit for the first half of the year slipped despite a rise in revenue as volumes slipped and operating expenses rose and backed its revenue growth expectations for the full year the consumergoods companywhich houses dettol harpic and durex among its brandsposted a pretax profit of 164 billion pounds 212 billion for the six months compared with a profit of gbp169 billion in the yearearlier period pricesmix was up 104 while volumes fell 44 reckitt backed guidance for 2023 revenue growth on a likeforlike basis in the range of 3 to 5 it raised guidance for its adjusted operating margin to be slightly ahead of 2022 levels from prior guidance of it being flat when excluding a oneoff benefit related to us nutrition revenue rose to gbp745 billion from gbp689 billion the prior year meanwhile revenue for the second quarter was gbp353 billion compared with gbp346 billion for the second quarter a year before the board declared an interim dividend of 766 pence a share up from 73 pence last year amidst a backdrop of challenging market conditions and uncertainty the business has strong momentum yet with an opportunity to further strengthen our execution optimise our cost base and deliver improved returns to shareholders chief executive officer nicandro durante said