PZ Cussons is a Manchester consumer goods company that makes washing, bathing, home and baby products such as Carex, Imperial Leather and Original Source. In 2023-24 the Nigerian currency lost about 70% of its value against sterling and cut reported revenue and profit. Since then the company has sold or kept its non-core assets, repaid debt and returned to growth. Net debt stood at £25m at 31 May 2026, against £112m a year earlier.
Soap, dishwash liquid and baby care in four countries
PZ Cussons dates its founding to 1884 and employs about 2,000 people. It sells Personal, Home and Baby Care products. Its four lead markets are the UK, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), Nigeria and Indonesia.
The brands include Carex, Childs Farm, Imperial Leather, Original Source, Sanctuary Spa and St.Tropez (sunless tanning). In Australia it sells Morning Fresh washing-up liquid, in Indonesia Cussons Baby, and in Nigeria Premier. Revenue growth comes from price and mix (selling better or dearer products) and from volume. Profit also depends on marketing spend, cost savings and currency movements, and Nigeria makes the last of these especially important. 6 Aug 2026 17 Sep 2025
The Naira shock
In the year to May 2024 the Nigerian Naira fell 70% against sterling. Revenue dropped 19.6% to £528m, and adjusted operating profit fell from £73m to £58m. The statutory result was an operating loss of £84m after a first-half foreign exchange loss of £88m. The company cut the full-year dividend 44% to 3.60p.
The shares fell from 153p in December 2023 to 100p by February 2024. Management responded by bringing Nigerian cash back to the UK. Gross debt fell from £251m in May 2023 to £167m a year later. 18 Sep 2024 7 Feb 2024 23 Nov 2023 24 Apr 2024
Selling, keeping and changing course
In April 2024 the board decided to put St.Tropez up for sale and to review options for the African business.
The outcomes differed from that first plan. In June 2025 it sold its 50% stake in PZ Wilmar, a Nigerian edible oils joint venture, for $70m (about £51m). The same month it kept St.Tropez, having run an auction at a time of sharply falling revenue and profit for the brand. It set up a US partnership with distributor The Emerson Group instead. In December 2025 it also kept the African business and set limits on its currency exposure. It sold other surplus assets too.
The shares sat mostly between 70p and 90p through this period. 24 Apr 2024 18 Jun 2025 26 Jun 2025 11 Dec 2025 17 Sep 2025
“We therefore plan to realise shareholder value by initiating a process to sell the brand to an owner better placed to capture the brand's significant long-term potential.” 24 Apr 2024
Growth returns, helped by Nigeria
In FY25 group like-for-like revenue grew 8.0%, but that was mostly Nigerian price rises. Excluding Africa it grew 0.3%. FY26 guidance started at £48-53m of adjusted operating profit. The company raised it to £50-55m in November 2025, then to £53-57m in February 2026, and in June 2026 said profit would be at or slightly above the top of that range.
The result was £59.5m, up 24.5% on FY25 excluding Wilmar. Cost savings of £8.5m and £5.4m of currency revaluation gains drove the rise, partly offset by £3.5m more marketing. The currency gains are not a sign of underlying growth. Adjusted earnings per share still fell 2.7% to 7.14p because of a higher tax rate and a larger minority share of Nigerian profit. 17 Sep 2025 20 Nov 2025 11 Feb 2026 17 Jun 2026 6 Aug 2026
What drove the record
One currency explains most of the swings. When the Naira collapsed, reported results fell with it. When it steadied, profit recovered. The sale of Wilmar, the retained but limited Nigeria exposure and the use of Nigerian cash to repay UK debt are all aimed at that risk.
The second lesson is that the planned disposals did not go as first announced. A brand sale and a possible Africa sale became a retained brand and a retained Africa business. 18 Sep 2024 11 Dec 2025 6 Aug 2026
Same CEO, new finance chief, steady guidance record
Jonathan Myers has been chief executive throughout. The business now runs on a refreshed strategy set out at a Capital Markets Event on 11 February 2026. Management merged UK business units, cut overheads and raised marketing spend to the highest level in recent years. It also closed the US offices after the Emerson deal and the Childs Farm office in the UK.
Sarah Pollard left as finance chief, and Jan Bramall joined on 23 March 2026. Two non-executive directors, Valeria Juarez and Jitesh Sodha, leave at the 1 October 2026 AGM, and Peju Adebajo and Sarah Miles replace them. Chair David Tyler bought shares in February, March and August 2026. FIL Limited's holding rose from 0.07% to 9.98% between December 2025 and September 2026. 17 Sep 2025 6 Aug 2026 22 Dec 2025 22 Jan 2026 2 Sep 2026 13 Feb 2026 3 Mar 2026 17 Aug 2026 11 Feb 2026
Lower debt, mixed brands
In FY26 revenue rose 5.4% to £541m, with growth in all four lead markets and all top ten brands. Net debt was £25m. Gross debt has fallen £174m in three years. The full-year dividend rose 2.8% to 3.70p, the first increase in the period covered here.
St.Tropez grew 6.9% in North America after two years of double-digit declines but still fell overall, as the UK and Europe declined. Q1 FY27 like-for-like revenue grew 4.5%. The shares closed at 110.8p in July 2026, and the latest close was 96.5p on 9 October 2026. 6 Aug 2026 1 Oct 2026
Targets, dividend and open risks
For FY27 the board expects adjusted operating profit in line with market expectations, and on 1 October 2026 it left full-year expectations unchanged. It has said it has already acted to offset most cost inflation from the Middle East conflict.
On 11 February 2026 the company set a multi-year framework. Over the cycle it aims for mid-single-digit like-for-like revenue growth, high-single-digit operating profit growth at constant currency, high-single-digit EPS growth at reported currency and double-digit total shareholder return. It also set adjusted net debt to EBITDA of 1.0-1.5x, which in February excluded cash held in Nigeria, a progressive dividend, and bolt-on acquisitions in the UK and Australia considered alongside cash returns. First-half FY27 results are due on 10 February 2027.
The open questions are the Naira, whether St.Tropez recovers outside the US, and how much profit growth can continue without the FX gains that helped FY26. 6 Aug 2026 1 Oct 2026 11 Feb 2026 17 Jun 2026
Written by AI from PZ Cussons's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources