Soap maker PZ Cusson's shares tumble on lower profit forecast amid FX woes
Adds CEO comment in paragraph 3, details and background throughout
Sept 18 (Reuters) -Shares in PZ Cussons PZC.L fell as much as 18% on Wednesday after the soap maker forecast lower profits for the fiscal year 2025, pressured by currency headwinds in Nigeria, one of its largest markets.
PZ Cussons has been hit by the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, resulting in higher debt and lower shareholder returns.
The African country is among the Manchester-based company's top four markets. The firm had received a "broad range of interests" for its African operations, which might result in a partial or full sale, CEO Jonathan Myers said in an interview on Wednesday.
The company did not provide any additional details on the potential sale or the previously announced divestment of its self-tanning brand St. Tropez.
"We are cautiously optimistic that local players will have a more positive view of PZC’s assets in Nigeria than the UK stock market," analysts at Investec said in a note.
The maker of Imperial Leather soaps and Carex hand wash expects adjusted operating profit for the year to be between 47 million pounds ($62 million) and 53 million pounds, below 58.3 million posted for the year ended May 31, 2024.
Shares in the consumer goods firm were trading down 13.7% at 89.1p as of 0721 GMT.
($1 = 0.7584 pounds)
Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
