PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc, has recorded N260.46 billion in revenue for the 2026 financial year, representing 22 per cent growth, compared with N212.63 billion in the corresponding period in 2025.

The Company’s Board has also, proposed a dividend payment of N2.50k per share, subject to shareholders’ approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting holding in October 28, 2026.

A breakdown analysis of the audited financial results for the year ended May 31, 2026, revealed that the company delivered strong performance with recurring operating profit rising by 117 per cent to ₦37.1 billion.

The Company Secretary, Oghenekevwe Ogefere, in a statement disclosed that the total operating profit rose to ₦77.1 billion, supported by improved underlying performance and non-recurring income, principally arising from scrap sales and gains on the disposal of non-core assets.

Ogefere stated that the performance reflects the commitment of the company’s people, continued investment in priority brands, product innovation, improved route-to-market execution, and disciplined cost management.

The Group also recorded a significant improvement in its financial position. Total equity turned positive at ₦66.6 billion as of 31st May, 2026, compared with a negative equity of ₦17.3 billion in the preceding year. Profit before tax rose to ₦77.3 billion, while profit after tax increased to ₦45.2 billion. This improvement was supported by stronger profitability, disciplined capital allocation, effective foreign exchange exposure management, and the settlement of outstanding debt obligations,” she said.

She further stated that the ₦ 77.1 billion in operating profit was driven by a combination of factors, including organic business performance, currency gains, and the disposal of non-core assets.

Expressing profound appreciation to the shareholders for their unwavering support in navigating through the challenges in the last 12 months, she added, “We have a business that has strong brands, an adaptive operating framework, and a culture of disciplined execution that supports the consistent delivery of value to stakeholders.”

According to her, the Board and management remain focused on sustaining profitable growth, strengthening the balance sheet, and creating long-term value for shareholders and other stakeholders.

Nigerian companies increased business activity at a much faster pace in August amid greater success in securing new orders. In turn, purchasing and employment also rose, although the pace of job creation was only muted. Meanwhile, inflationary pressures ticked higher.

The headline figure derived from the survey is the Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Managers’ Index™™ (PMI). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration.

The headline PMI rose to 54.3 in August, up from 52.5 in July and signalling a solid monthly strengthening in the health of the Nigerian private sector. Moreover, the latest improvement was the joint-largest in just over two-and-a-half years, equal with that seen in March 2025. Business conditions have now strengthened in seven successive months.

New orders rose substantially midway through the third quarter of the year, and at a pace unsurpassed since the start of 2024. Panellists reported that customer demand had improved, while the launch of new products had also contributed to growth.

Muyiwa Oni, Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank commented: “Private sector activity in Nigeria was in an expansionary territory for the seventh consecutive month, rising to 54.3 points in August from 52.5 points recorded in July. Asides improved demand and the launch of new products which have been common factors in the past few months, companies reported availability of materials as a factor that supported overall growth in August, with output now rising above the 50.0 points expansionary threshold for the 21st consecutive month. Companies also remain positive on future output as they plan to hire more workers, export to other countries and expand into new locations amid an expectation of higher customer numbers.

Meanwhile, input prices maintained an uptrend on account of higher transportation costs and increase in prices of raw materials. In line with this, output prices also maintained an uptrend, with the agricultural sector seeing the biggest jump in prices. Indeed, food prices (20.31% y/y as of July from 17.52% y/y in June) have maintained an uptrend for the sixth consecutive month despite headline inflation moderating for the second consecutive month to 15.43% y/y in July (vs June: 15.91% y/y).

The PMI prints so far in Q3:26 continue to reinforce a strong growth outcome for the quarter, likely to help sustain a 4.1% GDP growth rate for the full year 2026. While the oil sector’s growth is likely to slow to 3.45% y/y in 2026 (vs 2025: 8.50% y/y), we expect a better performance from the non-oil sector which may grow by 4.11% y/y (vs 2025: 3.71% y/y). Among the three broad sectors of the economy, we expect the manufacturing sector to see the biggest boost to its growth amid the low statistical base effects from 2025 while ICT, trade, real estate, and finance & insurance will likely remain the biggest drivers of the services sector’s growth.”

In response to sharply rising new orders, companies ramped up their business activity in August, with the rate of expansion much faster than seen in July. Some panellists also linked growth to better material availability. Output has now risen in each of the past 21 months. Underlying data pointed to increases in activity across all four broad sectors, with particularly strong growth in the agriculture and manufacturing industries.

Employment continued to rise, the fifteenth month running in which job creation has been recorded. That said, in contrast to the sharp expansions in output and new orders, the rate of jobs growth remained modest. Wholesale & retail employment even decreased, while rising staffing levels were registered elsewhere.

Despite the muted pace of job creation, companies were better able to keep on top of workloads in August, recording a fall in backlogs of work for the first time in seven months.

Improving customer demand and preparation for upcoming projects led companies in Nigeria to expand their purchasing activity in August, and at a strong pace that was the fastest since last November. In turn, the rate of inventory building also hit a nine-month high.

Suppliers’ delivery times shortened for the second month running, and to a greater extent than in July. Prompt payments and good relationships with suppliers were among the factors helping to speed up deliveries, according to respondents, with competition among vendors and improved logistics also behind shorter lead times.

The rate of purchase cost inflation ticked up in August but was still below the average over the year-to-date. Higher fuel and transportation costs were widely reported, with companies also indicating that raw material prices had risen during the month. Meanwhile, the rate of staff cost inflation eased to the weakest in nine months.

In line with the picture for purchase costs, the pace of output price inflation quickened in August as companies passed higher expenses on to customers. Agriculture recorded the fastest increase in charges of the four monitored sectors.

Looking to the future, companies remained optimistic that output will rise over the coming year, although sentiment dipped to a three-month low. Anecdotal evidence suggested that positive sentiment reflected a range of factors, including plans to expand into new locations, export to other economies and raise employment. Expected improvements in customer numbers also supported optimism.

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals says it is considering stopping the sale of petrol to major marketers that continue to import petrol into Nigeria, amid concerns over product quality and the blending of imported fuel with products supplied by the refinery.

The proposed measure could take effect as early as this week, subject to further consultations and any last-minute intervention, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The immediate concern is that some marketers are allegedly blending imported PMS with petrol purchased from the Dangote refinery before distributing the resulting product to the market.

The refinery is concerned that such practices could make it difficult to distinguish between products supplied directly by Dangote and products subsequently blended or handled by third parties.

“It is difficult to understand why we would invest heavily in producing high-quality petroleum products for Nigerians, only for those products to be mixed with imported products of uncertain quality and the resulting product to be associated with the refinery,” a senior official at the $20bn Lekki-based plant, who spoke in confidence due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

The refinery has also raised concerns about what it called a lack of a standard laboratory and adequate quality-control infrastructure for imported petroleum products, particularly the capacity to independently verify and certify the specifications of products entering the Nigerian market.

The latest development comes barely days after the Dangote refinery warned that rising petrol imports were forcing it to export excess stocks despite having sufficient capacity to meet Nigeria’s domestic demand.

The refinery said imported PMS accounted for approximately 43 per cent of fuel supplied into the Nigerian market in July, saying the continued issuance of petrol import licences had created uncertainty over domestic demand and made production and inventory planning increasingly difficult.

Dangote said it had consistently maintained sufficient inventory and reserved product volumes to guarantee steady supply to the Nigerian market, but argued that keeping large stocks indefinitely was becoming commercially unsustainable when it could not determine how much imported petrol would enter the country.

“As a responsible energy provider, we have always endeavoured to keep adequate reserves to satisfy local demand at all times. However, in an environment where significant volumes of imported PMS continue to enter the market through licences issued by the regulator, and where there is limited visibility on future import volumes, it becomes commercially unsustainable to continue holding excess inventory indefinitely.”

The refinery said the surplus petrol that could not be absorbed by the domestic market would consequently have to be exported to regional and international markets.

The proposed restriction on sales to importing marketers now adds a new dimension to the refinery’s concerns, as Dangote moves from highlighting the commercial impact of rising imports to considering measures that would prevent marketers from sourcing its petrol while simultaneously importing competing products.