Despite being a member of the FTSE 250 for nearly two decades, PZ Cussons is not exactly a household name.
Yet every household in the land will have bought its products at some point.
These include Carex handwash, Charles Worthington hair care products, Original Source shower gel and Imperial Leather soap.
Imperial Leather is among the company’s brands
With a portfolio like that, it is hardly surprising that the Manchester-based business has been a winner during COVID-19.
It today reported a 16.3% rise in half year pre-tax profits, on an adjusted basis, to £34.9m on the back of a 10.2% rise in sales during the period to £312.9m.
Sales were up in all parts of the world apart from Africa, where they fell very modestly, but this was entirely due to currency translation factors – chiefly from the Nigerian naira to the US dollar.
Profits, meanwhile, were up in all geographic territories.
In Europe and the Americas, for example, sales were up by…
