PZ Cussons defies £12m currency hit

PZ CUSSONS, the Manchester company behind brands such as Imperial Leather and self tanning product St Tropez, shrugged off a £12m hit from weakening currencies to report  higher annual profits.

The group, based next to Manchester Airport, has operations in Africa, Indonesia and Australia,  said profits in the year to the end of May rose 7% to £115m on revenue down 2.5% to £861.4m.

Excluding the impact of exchange rates, operating profit would have been 18% higher than prior year, rather than the 7.4% increase delivered. The worst-affected currencies were the Australian Dollar, Indonesian Rupiah and the Ghanaian Cedi, the company said.

There was a generally healthy picture across all territories  The UK business performed well – super model Kate Moss has helped grow sales of St Tropez since becoming a brand ambassador. In Africa operating profits were ahead despite increased levels of distruption in the north of that country. In Asia, despite weakening currencies, there was revenue and profit growth.

Chairman Richard Harvey described the performance as “strong” and said performance since the year end had been in line with expectations.

He said: “During the year we acquired Rafferty’s Garden (an Australian children’s food business) and sold our Polish Home Care brands as we continue to seek to focus the business on areas we perceive have particularly high growth potential and where we can add substantial value.

The acquisition of Rafferty’s Garden marked our entry into the Asian Food and Nutrition category, a sector we believe is particularly exciting and where we are developing plans for further growth. Having disposed of the Polish Home Care brands we are now focussing on the Personal Care and Beauty business in that region.

“Our balance sheet remains strong and we have the appetite to pursue further investment opportunities which fit our strategic aims.”

The group maintained its excellent record of dividend growth, announcing a total increase of  5%  – its 41st year of consecutive year-on-year increases.