(Alliance News) - PZ Cussons PLC on Wednesday said its performance continued to be hurt by consumer fragility in the first quarter of its current financial year, with uncertainty in the UK and highly competitive markets in Australia.
Ahead of its annual general meeting on Wednesday, the personal healthcare products manufacturer reported "some encouraging progress" in Europe & the Americas in the three months to the end of August. However, the FTSE 250-listed firm warned that UK Personal Care brands were hurt by consumer uncertainty and heavy promotional activity, leading to lower revenue.
Meanwhile, PZ Cussons said Asia Pacific revenue declined versus the prior year, as continued "good" growth in Indonesia was offset by increased promotional spend in Australia.
In Africa, the company said revenue continued to fall, albeit at a slower rate than last year. Good growth in the Electricals category and selected premium brands was offset by the decline of value brands, primarily in Home Care, PZ Cussons explained.
Looking ahead, the company - which owns St Tropez brand - said it expects trading conditions to remain challenging across its key geographies in the first half of its current financial year ending May 2020. However, PZ Cussons said it anticipates an improvement in the second half, helped by planned marketing activities and overhead reduction programmes.
"We expect the full-year results to be in line with prior year, adjusted for the impact of disposals, but dependent on no further worsening in our key markets," the company said in its statement Wednesday.
PZ Cussons shares were trading 0.9% lower in London early on Wednesday at 210.50 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Pz Cussons (PZC)
