PZ Cussons PLC on Wednesday reported double-digit rises in both interim profit and revenue, and kept dividend unchanged.

Shares were down 5.5% at 202.20 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

The Manchester-based manufacturer of personal care brands such as Imperial Leather said

in the six months to December 3, revenue rose 19% to £336.9 million from £283.7 million a year before. It explained that this was led by the Childs Farm acquisition, favourable foreign exchange market and the ‘impact of additional reporting days in the period’.

On a like-for-like basis, revenue rose 6.1%, but this was propped up by price increases, with sales by volume down 5.4%.

Pretax profit surged 72% to £40.5 million from £23.5 million, as administrative expenses declined to £30.7 million from £45.1 million a year earlier.

In Europe and the Americas, revenue was £99.5 million, up 4.6% year-on-year. But PZ Cussons saw earnings plunge 48.8% to £4.1 million as it faced soaring costs and slumping UK consumer confidence.

The interim dividend was unchanged at 2.67p.

Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Myers said: ‘Despite the continued challenging macro environment, we have delivered another quarter of like for like revenue growth. Our first half performance has been in line with expectations and we are reiterating our full year outlook.’

Looking ahead, PZ said it expects to report financial 2023 adjusted pretax profit in line with current market estimates.

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