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PZ Cussons is confident its pre-tax profits will be ahead of consensus and the prior year, with revenue currently up 7%.
In a trading update in respect of its financial year ended May 31, 2021, the company said its overall gross margin has improved, driven by positive price/mix in each of its core categories.
Its Must Win brands grew 11% in the period, and since Q3 the company's net debt has reduced to a lower level than last year.
The company added, however, that unprecedented demand for its hygiene brands at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently holding back year on year revenue comparisons and, as a result, Q4 declined versus the prior year.
PZ Cussons has also announced that a chief sustainability officer and chief Mmrketing transformation officer will join the executive leadership team in early September to lead its ESG efforts and strengthen the brand building capabilities.
Jonathan Myers, chief executive officer at PZ Cussons, said: 'It's been a year of solid progress at PZ Cussons. Despite the obvious volatility and challenges, we returned the business to revenue growth, delivered positive price / mix to improve gross margin and put our focus and investment back into building brands. We rolled out our new strategy - Building Brands for Life, Today and for Future Generations - and have already started to deliver against it.
'However, our work has only just begun. In the immediate term we are lapping some exceptional demand levels from the peak months of the COVID-19 pandemic, both as we ended the last financial year and as we navigate the first quarter of this year. Along with other consumer goods companies, we are dealing with commodity and other cost headwinds. We are accelerating price increases and strengthening Revenue Growth Management plans to mitigate the impact of these headwinds and drive up price / mix to protect gross margin and continue to invest in our brands.'
He added that in the longer term, the company is working to sustain 'the early impetus of the turnaround over the coming years'.