PZ Cussons’ share price leapt 10.9% on Wednesday, after strong first-half results showed a dramatic recovery in volumes in its fast-growing African business.
Like-for-like revenue growth soared to 9.5% in the half year to 29 November, with adjusted operating profit up 31.9% to £35.6m. Operating margin likewise improved 240 basis points, rising to 13.2% in the half as a strategic review of the business paid off.
CEO Jonathan Myers told The Grocer he was “humbly pleased” to see the company “at the head of the pack” among consumer businesses.
“All four of our lead markets grew. It’s broad-based growth, and that gives us confidence we can sustain momentum,” he said.
“We have been working diligently to strengthen our balance sheets, so we can really invest in the business for the future and really support innovation.”
Read more: PZ upgrades profit expectations following strategic review success
PZ Cussons has more than doubled its R&D spend over the past four years – and has supported innovation with marketing budgets higher than any point in the past five years.
“We’ve worked very hard to transition this company from being one that has done well on trading and short-termism, to building a better pipeline of innovation and product news for the future,” he added.
Key to the company’s strong performance has been its recovery to volume growth in Nigeria, even after about 20 rounds of inflation-linked pricing increases last year. Volumes hit 12.7% growth in Africa overall.
The results came just months after PZ Cussons had concluded a strategic review of its African market.
“The decision not to sell Africa at a fire sale price looks increasingly sensible,” said Investec analyst Matthew Webb.
Even in more mature markets such as the UK, the group has seen strong growth: Original Source volumes were up 8% in H1, and Childs Farm up 15%.
“We’re always looking to make sure we get that sweet spot,” Myers said.
“It may not be every quarter, but over time we want a healthy mix of price and volume – we certainly haven’t priced ourselves out.”
Even the group’s struggling St Tropez tanning brand has registered positive progress, after PZ Cussons called off a sale in summer 2025.
“We made a big call to keep it rather than sell,” Myers said.
“The onus is on us to demonstrate that we can create more value by keeping it, so we have worked really hard to address what was most broken.”
Following a double-digit decline in US sales last year, PZ Cussons opted to cut its US team and partner with American consumer group Emerson.
“We’ve made quite a change to our operating model. We no longer need a Manhattan office or a team in the US. But much more importantly, it’s a step up in capability and access to the really good customer relationships that Emerson Group has, being a multibillion-dollar operator in the US market.
Revenues for the brand grew 12% in the half, as the new partnership avoided “balls being dropped” and “reactivated some of the trade relationships that had withered on the vine during the potential sales process”.
“It’s the rest of the [St Tropez] business where we’ve reported disappointing numbers, and that’s a reflection of the magnitude of the turnaround challenge we signed ourselves up to,” Myers added.
“The good news is that the numbers have been improving each quarter. We are very clear the job we will do, through innovation, investment and brand building, is return that to revenue growth.”
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