Problems in Nigeria and Indonesia weighed on consumer goods group PZ Cussons (LON:PZC).
Shares fell 13% even though the maker of Imperial Leather and Original Source delivered improved profits overall.
Revenue was flat at £385.9mln for the first half of the year to November 30, with pre-tax profit up 0.8% to £40mln.
The interim dividend was at 2.61p.
Richard Harvey, chairman, acknowledged a “difficult trading environment in Nigeria and the impact of weaker currencies in both Africa and Asia.”
Revenue would have been 9.6% higher and profit up by 2.1%, if adverse currency effects were removed.
Low oil prices and continued poor performance of key commodities have affected a number of African currencies.
The area has also been affected by restricted foreign exchange, resulting in a decline in revenue from exports.
Nigeria’s squeeze on disposable income has hurt its currency, the naira and further devaluation was flagged as a key risk to the immediate outlook by analyst Nicola Mallard of Investec.
“The outlook for 2H in Nigeria remains uncertain. Risk remains of a further devaluation of the naira, which would increase input costs and impact margins in the short term.“
PZ Cussons’ Asia Pacific business was also affected.
The Indonesian market saw a challenging consumer environment as a result of slow GDP growth and a weaker exchange rate.