UK scrubs up well at PZ Cussons

27th Jul 2010 07:52

International consumer products group PZ Cussons saw profitable growth last year in all three of its operating regions.Headline profit before tax, which excludes exceptional items, rose 14.6% in the year to 31 May to £101.8m from £88.8m the year before, despite a 1.3% fall in revenue to £771.6m from £781.8m.Operating profit in Africa grew from £39.5m to £42.2m but was overshadowed by the performance in Asia and Europe.Asia saw operating profit surge to £13m from £10.2m the year before while Europe's operating profit rose to £46.2m from £40.9m.Performance in the UK has been strong as a result of excellent brand innovation across the portfolio of Imperial Leather, Carex, Original Source, Charles Worthington and The Sanctuary, the company said. This is despite the trading environment remaining difficult with high levels of promotional activity in the retailers and an uncertain consumer outlook, it addedAdjusted basic earnings per share rose 20.2% to 14.89p from 12.39p."Cash generation has been extremely strong and even after £44.3m of capital investment in the year, the closing net funds position of £86.5m leaves the group well-placed to pursue growth opportunities," chairman Richard Harvey said.The company ended the previous financial year-end with net funds of £23.2m.Cash generated from operations rose to £160.8m from £145.2m the year before.Performance since the end of the company's financial year-end has been in line with management expectations. The outlook for the year remains positive with significant brand renovation programmes planned across Europe, Asia and Africa. "With the major capital investment programmes in the UK and Nigeria now complete, the group is well placed for efficient manufacturing and distribution in these territories," the company said.The total dividend for the year has been increased by 12% to 5.90p from 5.27p.