Nigeria crisis hurts PZ Cussons

PZ Cussons warned it was likely to report disappointing full year profits, pointing to political upheaval in Nigeria, challenging trading conditions in Australia and high raw materials costs. Shares in the maker of Imperial Leather soap fell as much as 8.4 percent on Tuesday after it reported an 11.7 per cent drop in first half pretax profit and said full-year results would be towards the bottom end of current market expectations. It had already issued a profit warning in December as pressure on consumers compounded the pain of high raw materials costs and adverse moves in exchange rates.