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PZ Cussons PLC on Thursday posted a ‘resilient’ performance in the most recent financial year, with dips in both revenue and profit amid a ‘challenging’ market backdrop, but it raised its annual dividend by just over 5%.
For the year that ended on May 31, the Manchester-based manufacturer of personal care brands such as Imperial Leather and St Tropez said revenue slipped by 1.7% to £592.8 million from £603.3 million the year before, as ‘adverse FX movements and net disposals more than offset life-for-like growth’.
Pretax profit declined 8.7% to £65.3 million from £71.5 million due to the ‘reduction in revenue and a brand impairment’, the firm explained. Administrative expenses widened to £77.2 million from £68.3 million the year before.
PZ Cussons noted that fourth-quarter like-for-like revenue growth was 7.1%, driven by strong price growth, with limited volume impact. In the first quarter of financial 2023, like-for-like revenue growth slowed to 6.7%, amounting to a revenue of £162.7 million.
Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Myers said: ‘PZ Cussons has delivered a resilient performance over the past year, against the backdrop of challenging conditions in our markets. We have achieved this through our strategy to invest in our brands, focusing on the core categories of Hygiene, Baby and Beauty, while significantly raising the bar on the way we operate.’
PZ Cussons declared a final dividend of 3.73 pence per share, up 9.1% from 3.42 pence a year prior. This makes the total dividend of financial 2022 to 6.40 pence, up 5.1% from 6.09 pence.
Looking ahead, PZ Cussons noted a ‘good’ start to financial 2023, expecting to deliver results in line with current consensus estimates.
The company said it now is aiming for mid-single-digit revenue growth in the long-term, up from the low-mid-single-digit growth previously targeted, and adjusted operating profit margin in the mid-teens percentage, compared to 11.5% in financial 2022.
Shares were up 0.5% at 196.20 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
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