Sales of Reckitt's Mead Johnson baby formula powder are likely to take a short-term hit after a tornado damaged a third-party warehouse in the United States, the British consumer goods company said.
The Mount Vernon warehouse in Indiana, out of action since the tornado struck on 9 July, is an important site for the company's Mead Johnson Nutrition business, containing both raw materials and finished products, Reckitt said.
All employees are safe, the company added, saying it had diverted deliveries to other warehouses in the United States.
Some nutrition SKUs (product varieties) will likely be affected in the short term, a Reckitt spokesperson said.
Efforts To Minimise Disruption
The company could not estimate when the warehouse would be up and running again, but said it was working as quickly as possible with local authorities and regulators to minimise the disruption.
"We are partnering with customers and suppliers on expedited recovery efforts to minimise disruption by leveraging our global supply chain and managing inventory at our other US warehouses," the spokesperson said.
This is not the first time Reckitt has had to rely on its worldwide supply chain in an emergency, which can take time because of the regulatory hurdles the company needs to clear with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
In 2022, during a months-long US shortage of baby formula, Reckitt flew 65 tonnes of baby formula to Chicago from its plant in Singapore. A few months before, it said it was working with the FDA to increase baby formula supply, including expediting the approval of some products made at a facility in Mexico.
Reckitt said it had comprehensive property damage and business interruption insurance, which it expects will largely offset the impact on earnings.
