(Alliance News) - PZ Cussons PLC on Tuesday reported a drop in interim profit, but revenue growth was strong amid demand for hand wash and hand sanitiser during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the six months to November 30, the Manchester-headquartered the personal healthcare products and consumer goods manufacturer recorded pretax profit of GBP36.3 million, marginally down from GBP36.8 million the year before.
The slight drop was attributed to last year's profit on the disposal of its Greece business, and incurring exceptional costs primarily related to its Nigeria business in financial 2020.
Adjusted pretax profit rose 16% to GBP34.9 million from GBP30.0 million, up 19% at constant currency.
Revenue improved 10% to GBP312.9 million from GBP284.0 million. The growth was driven by Focus brands, where revenue grew by 22% from increased sales of hand wash Carex, as well as of the Morning Fresh, Cussons Baby and St Tropez brands.
Europe & Asia was the company's best performing region with sales up 33% at both reported and constant currency. Asia Pacific sales were up 1.8% at actual currency rates and 4.2% at constant currency. Sales in Africa were down 3.4% at reported currencies, hurt by the Nigerian naira, though up 5.9% at constant currency.
PZ Cussons declared an interim dividend of 2.67 pence, unchanged on the year before.
Chair Caroline Silver said: "Our fast start to this financial year was maintained with the group delivering strong growth in revenue and adjusted profit across all regions, notwithstanding increased investment in marketing and organisational capabilities."
Looking ahead to the second half, PZ Cussons noted the risk of weaker consumer confidence, which could lead to "already evident" upward cost pressure. Despite this, the firm expects to continue increasing investments in its brands.
"In the second half of this year, with our recent strategy review moving into execution, we expect further progression in brand building, the continued turnaround of key brands and the implementation of our simplification project in Nigeria. The external environment continues to remain very challenging and volatile but we remain focused on developing our strategic plans that will benefit all stakeholders in the longer term," Silver added.
PZ Cussons expects to perform in line with the current range of market expectations for the current financial year.
Shares in PZ Cussons were 0.8% higher in London on Tuesday morning at 239.80 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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Pz Cussons (PZC)