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(Adds CEO and analyst comments, details and background)
By Tanishaa Nadkar
Jan 26 (Reuters) - PZ Cussons PZC.L , the maker of Imperial
Leather soap and Carex handwash, posted a higher first-half
adjusted pretax profit on Tuesday and said it expects the
coronavirus crisis to have a lasting impact on people's
stringent hygiene practises even after the pandemic starts to
ease.
While the size of some industries is expected to go back to
pre-pandemic level, a few will remain massive as certain habits
look like they are going to endure, the British company said.
"With lockdowns relaxing, people going to schools, offices
and cinemas, we're seeing potential for people to carry bottles
of sanisiters with them like they carry their car keys and
mobile phones around," Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Myers
told Reuters.
The St. Tropez maker said adjusted pretax profit jumped
18.7% to 34.9 million pounds ($47.61 million) for the six months
ended Nov. 30, adding that it expects to perform in line with
the current range of market expectations for the fiscal year.
"The pandemic has boosted demand for hygiene products and
cultural memory of the crisis means habits such as stringent and
regular handwashing are likely to remain legacies of COVID," AJ
Bell investment director Russ Mould said, adding that Myers'
strategy had already started to bear fruit.
"What Myers is attempting isn't rocket science. He's simply
trying to clean up the mess left by several predecessors by
focusing investment on key brands".
Cussons had stepped up marketing for its leading brands such
as Carex by more than a third compared with last year, as it
battles new entrants in the growing hand sanitiser market, Myers
said.
The company, founded more than 130 years ago in Sierra
Leone, also said it was seeing some delays in material supply
due to Brexit, but added that the initial effects of the
departure have been managed with only a minor adverse impact.
($1 = 0.7331 pounds)