PZ Cussons Plc, the parent company of PZ Cussons Nigeria, says it will retain its Africa business as it pursues an ambitious growth strategy built on a portfolio balanced between developed and emerging markets.
The company announced the decision in a statement on Thursday while providing an update on the strategic review of its Africa operations, which began in 2024.
In September 2024, PZ Cussons said the company is planning to sell its African subsidiaries.
PZ Cussons said the company is looking at partial or full sale, adding that the sale will reduce the company’s exposure to naira fluctuations.
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On June 18, 2025, Wilmar International Limited, a Singaporean food processing and investment holding company, reached an agreement to acquire a 50 percent stake held by PZ Cussons plc in their Nigerian joint venture, PZ Wilmar Limited, for $70 million.
According to the statement, the group received significant levels of interest from a number of parties regarding the wider Africa portfolio.
“The board has, however, concluded that the greatest value for shareholders will be created by retaining the business and building a Group portfolio balanced between its Developed markets of United Kingdom and Australia/New Zealand and its Emerging markets of Indonesia and Nigeria,” PZ Cussons said.
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The group said it is setting out plans to build a winning portfolio of locally-loved brands, building on the improved momentum achieved in recent years.
This, the statement, said will be delivered through strengthening core markets, expanding into new product categories and deepening its footprint across the continent.
Under the core-growth pillar, PZ Cussons plans to scale its businesses in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana by doubling down on brand building, widening distribution, revenue growth management, improving in-store execution, and deploying digital tools.
The Nigerian business, the company noted, has more than doubled the number of stores it serves directly since full year 2022 — a major driver of recent performance.
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For category expansion, the group is targeting new adjacencies, with a particular focus on men’s grooming and beauty, leveraging brands such as Venus, Imperial Leather and Premier.
The Pan-Africa growth strategy will see the company enter additional African markets which will be served from the existing footprint in Nigeria and Kenya.
‘RECENT ECONOMIC, CURRENCY TRENDS HAVE BEEN FAVOURABLE’
The company said improving economic and currency conditions have supported double-digit revenue growth in the Africa business in the first half of the financial year.
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“The strategy is based on the significant long-term opportunity in Africa where population is forecast to grow by more than 900 million over the next 25 years, representing over half of total global population growth,” the company said.
“Nigeria’s population alone is forecast to increase by over 100 million further benefitting from urbanisation and rapidly growing middle classes. Recent economic and currency trends have been more favourable, supporting double-digit revenue growth in our Africa business in the first half of the financial year.”
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The group said the board is confident that the company is well positioned to succeed by leveraging on local market insights and its brand heritage.
PZ Cussons added that the business remains competitive, despite several multinational exits in recent years, with nearly 80 percent of Nigeria’s revenue coming from brands that hold number one or two positions in their categories.
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