PZ Cussons PLC (LON:PZC) has sold off a Polish shower gel brand and a Greek food business as part of management’s plan to start growing profits again.
The FTSE 250 group has seen its bottom line crumble in recent years, with pre-tax profits plunging from £88mln in 2017 to £37mln in 2019.
In a bid to reverse that trend, chief executive Alex Kanellis and his team recently brought in the ‘Focus, Scale and Accelerate’ strategy, part of which involved getting rid of less profitable assets.
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Cussons announced today that the Luksja personal care brand and olive oil maker Minerva would be the first on the chopping block.
Luksja has been sold to Athens-based Sarantis for an undisclosed sum, while a Luxembourg investment company has bought Minerva for £41mln.
“The proposed sale of Minerva and Luksja forms part of PZ Cussons' new strategy to 'Focus, Scale and Accelerate', announced along with our final results on 23 July,” said CEO Kanellis.
“We are streamlining the group to focus investment on core Personal Care and Beauty brands to deliver higher margin earnings, in geographies that can scale, with the aim of returning the group to sustainable, profitable growth.”
Shares were down 1% to 204p on Thursday morning.