PZ Cussons Final Results: Profit Rises as Debt Falls by £87 Million

PZ Cussons has reported a stronger set of final results for the year ended 31 May 2026, combining revenue growth across its four lead markets with higher underlying profit, improved cash generation and a substantial reduction in debt.

The owner of brands including Carex, Imperial Leather, Original Source, Sanctuary Spa and St.Tropez also plans to resume dividend growth. However, investors need to look beyond the sharp increase in statutory profit, which benefited from disposal gains and an impairment reversal.

The full figures are available in the original company announcement.

PZ Cussons' key figures

Metric	FY26	FY25	Change
Revenue	£541.4 million	£513.8 million	5.4%
Like-for-like revenue growth	5.8%	8.0%	-
Adjusted operating profit	£59.5 million	£54.9 million	8.4%
Adjusted operating profit excluding Wilmar	£59.5 million	£47.8 million	24.5%
Adjusted operating margin	11.0%	10.7%	30 basis points
Adjusted profit before tax	£50.1 million	£41.1 million	21.9%
Adjusted basic earnings per share	7.14p	7.34p	-2.7%
Free cash flow	£54.7 million	£42.3 million	29.3%
Net debt	£25.0 million	£112.0 million	Down £87.0 million
Full-year dividend per share	3.70p	3.60p	2.8%

Like-for-like growth strips out currency movements, acquisitions, disposals and other factors to provide a clearer view of underlying trading.

Revenue rose by 5.8% on this basis, including 4.3% from price and product mix and 1.5% from higher volumes. That balance matters because growth was not achieved through price increases alone.

Underlying profit growth was the standout

Adjusted operating profit increased by 8.4% to £59.5 million. The more useful comparison excludes the prior-year contribution from the now-sold PZ Wilmar joint venture, producing growth of 24.5%.

This improvement included £8.5 million of cost savings and £5.4 million of foreign exchange revaluation gains, partly offset by an additional £3.5 million invested in marketing.

The marketing increase is encouraging because PZ Cussons was able to invest behind its brands while still expanding underlying profitability. However, the foreign exchange gain is not necessarily repeatable, so investors should not assume the entire profit improvement represents a permanent uplift.

Statutory operating profit jumped from £20.6 million to £86.8 million. This was helped by disposal gains and a net impairment reversal, including a £24.4 million reversal for Sanctuary Spa, partly offset by impairments against the Charles Worthington and Fudge brands.

Statutory profit therefore looks impressive, but adjusted performance gives a cleaner indication of trading progress.

Growth reached all four lead markets

PZ Cussons reported growth across the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Nigeria and Indonesia.

UK

UK revenue increased by 0.5% to £175.4 million. Growth across Carex, Imperial Leather, Original Source and Sanctuary Spa was partly offset by weaker performance from smaller brands and St.Tropez.

Sanctuary Spa was the largest contributor, supported by Christmas gifting. Group Christmas gift pack sales increased by more than 30%, and management sees scope to expand gifting across more brands and occasions.

Australia and New Zealand

Revenue rose by 4.0% to £91.3 million, supported by Morning Fresh, Radiant and Rafferty's Garden. New products, including Morning Fresh Auto Dishwash and a 1 litre Original Source format, helped performance.

Indonesia

Revenue increased by 10.2% to £60.5 million, driven by the refreshed Cussons Baby range. E-commerce grew by more than 50% and represented 14% of total revenue, with TikTok Shop and Shopee highlighted as important channels.

Nigeria

Nigeria delivered the fastest growth, with revenue up 21.7% to £133.0 million. This reflected higher prices, volume growth and wider distribution.

The number of stores served increased by more than 40% to 250,000. PZ Cussons also expanded its network of higher-investment "Golden Outlets" by more than 40% to approximately 14,000.

Nigeria remains an important source of both opportunity and risk. The business benefited from a more stable Naira and lower inflation, but future currency and economic movements remain uncertain.

The balance sheet has changed significantly

Net debt fell from £112.0 million to £25.0 million, while gross debt has reduced by £174.3 million over three years.

The latest reduction was driven primarily by £47.8 million of proceeds from selling PZ Cussons' 50% stake in PZ Wilmar, £27.6 million from surplus asset sales and ongoing cash generation.

Free cash flow rose from £42.3 million to £54.7 million. Adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA, a measure comparing debt with underlying cash earnings, improved from 2.0 times to 0.7 times.

That sits below the company's new target range of 1.0 to 1.5 times, leaving financial flexibility. PZ Cussons says surplus capital will be prioritised towards maintaining its leverage range, paying a progressive dividend and considering bolt-on acquisitions alongside cash returns.

Why adjusted earnings per share fell

Despite higher adjusted profit before tax, adjusted basic earnings per share declined by 2.7% to 7.14p.

The company attributed this to a higher effective tax rate and increased minority interests. Minority interests represent the share of subsidiary profits belonging to outside shareholders, rather than PZ Cussons investors.

Growth in Nigeria, particularly within the Electricals business where PZ Cussons has a lower ownership share, therefore did not translate fully into earnings attributable to the parent company's shareholders.

The adjusted effective tax rate increased from 21.9% to 29.7%. The accounts also disclose current tax estimates with a net carrying value of £33.7 million, including £23.0 million relating to a difference in technical interpretation with a tax authority. The potential future settlement remains a cash risk.

Dividend growth resumes

The board has proposed a final dividend of 2.20p per share, taking the full-year payment to 3.70p. That is 2.8% higher than FY25.

Subject to approval, the final dividend will be paid on 8 October 2026 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 11 September 2026.

This is a modest increase, but it signals greater confidence following the reduction in leverage and improvement in free cash flow.

What investors should watch in FY27

Trading has started in line with expectations, and the board expects adjusted operating profit to match current market expectations. The precise market consensus figure was not disclosed.

The positives are broad-based sales growth, improving volumes, substantial cost savings, stronger free cash flow and a much healthier balance sheet. The St.Tropez recovery in North America, where revenue grew by 6.9%, is another useful early sign.

The main watchpoints are the non-recurring foreign exchange benefit, continued economic and currency exposure in Nigeria, higher taxation, weaker adjusted profit in Asia Pacific and St.Tropez's continued decline in the UK and Europe.

PZ Cussons enters FY27 in a stronger financial position, but the next test is whether it can repeat the underlying profit momentum without relying on disposal gains, impairment reversals or favourable currency revaluations.