Reckitt Benckiser (RB) saw its shares rise 5.3 percent to £62.81 yesterday as the FMCG giant posted a surge in sales for the fourth quarter of 2015, resulting in higher-than-expected like-for-like sales for the full year.

Sales rose 6 percent over the year to £8.87 billion, versus analysts’ expectations of a 5.3 percent increment. “These were a phenomenal set of results,” Bernstein analyst Andrew Wood told Reuters. “RB blew away consensus on every major metric.”

“RB delivered excellent growth and margin expansion in 2015 as a result of our continued focus on our Health, Hygiene and Home Powerbrand portfolio and supported by our culture of innovation and agility,” commented CEO Rakesh Kapoor. “Despite a year of mixed market conditions, we achieved broad based growth across both developed and developing markets.”

The consumer health division saw the greatest revenue growth overall, up 14 percent to £2,942 million on a like-for-like basis, credited to innovation within the Scholl franchise, such as the velvet smooth express pedi as well as a strong cold and flu season at the beginning of the year. The company forecast net revenue growth of 4 to 5 percent for 2016 despite a ‘tough’ macro environment.