Naira Devaluation: PZ Nigeria speaks on plans to sell company

The board of PZ Cussons Nigeria, the country’s leading soap and other household items manufacturer has said that it has yet to receive any information from its parent company on plans to sell its African subsidiaries.

This was made known in a statement released on Thursday on the website of the company’s secretary, ALSEC Nominees Limited.

The development comes as PZ Cussons International on Wednesday hinted at plans to sell its African business, stating that it has received several expressions of interest.

The position was contained in a statement revealing its First Half Financial standing which ended on May 31, 2024, and showed that its revenues declined by 19.6 percent to £527.9 million.

Consequently, the firm said, “The favorable trends of the second half of FY24 have continued into the new financial year. We are progressing with our plans to sell St. Tropez and have received several expressions of interest for our African business, recognizing the potential of our brands and people, which could lead to a partial or full sale”.

The Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Myers had blamed the devaluation of Naira for the decline of the company’s financial fortunes.

“The period was marked by a 70 percent devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, which has had significant implications on our reported financials,” he said.

However, the Nigeria subsidiary said, “The Board of PZCN has not at this time received any formal notification or more detail on this matter from the parent company, and will make the necessary disclosures as and when it receives more information.

“Please note that the Company’s closed period, which commenced on September 1, 2024, will remain in effect until 24 hours after the release of the Unaudited Financial Statements for the first quarter ended 31 August 2024, to the market.

“Consequently, no Director, persons discharging managerial responsibilities, Audit

“Committee Members, Advisers, Consultants and Employees, with insider information or their connected persons, shall deal directly or indirectly in the securities of the Company during this closed period”, it stated.

In April 2024, the company had earlier revealed a plan to reduce its business in Africa to cut down risks.

However, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected the company’s proposal to delist its stock from the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The development comes as Nigeria witnessed the exit of several multinationals in the last year over harsh economic realities such as the Naira crisis and high energy costs.

This includes Procter and Gamble (P&G), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Unilever, Sanofi-Aventi Nigeria, manufacturer of Huggies and Kotex brands of diapers, and Kimberly-Clark, among others.