Beauty products maker PZ Cussons is seeing a surge in demand for its Carex hand wash, sanitiser gels and Imperial Leather soap due to the coronavirus pandemic, while facing a slowdown in its fake tan brand St Tropez.
PZ Cussons said St Tropez has been hit hard by the social distancing measures in place in Britain, the US and across Europe.
"Our significant marketing activities planned for Q4 have been cancelled and we expect this business to be slow to recover," the company said.
The UK company's personal care business, which includes beauty, made up almost 60% of group revenue last year. St Tropez was a big driver of beauty revenue, with sales in the US up by 30% in 2019.
It pointed to a slow recovery in the beauty business as retailers are now stocking up on hygiene and personal care products rather than cosmetics.
"Our full year profit guidance remains within consensus range, albeit at the lower end," PZ Cussons, which recently hired Avon Products executive Jonathan Myers as its new CEO, said.
The group reported a fall in overall revenue in the third quarter ended February 29 year-on-year and said the impact of the coronavirus and the restrictions imposed to prevent its spread remained significant.
PZ Cussons' key manufacturing sites around the world remain open, despite the restrictions, it said.
