PZ Cussons, the Manchester-headquartered company behind the Carex, Original Source and Imperial Leather brands, "maintained its renewed momentum" during its latest financial period and achieved "encouraging growth".
The listed business has reported a rise in revenue of 4.7% on a constant currency basis to £145.3m, posting increases of 8.7% in Europe and the Americas, 2.6% in Asia Pacific, 3.2% in Africa and 18.8% in Central.
On a reported basis, the group's revenue increased by 0.1%, with rises of 8.1% in Europe and the Americas, 1.4% in Asia Pacific and 16.9% in Central. It suffered a 7% drop in Africa.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange for its third quarter to February 27, 2021, the group added that Carex in the UK and Morning Fresh in Australia and Nigeria "performed strongly".
The group also said that its balance sheet "remains robust" and that its net debt has fallen from £116m a year ago to £35m.
Chief executive Jonathan Myers said: "Our third quarter results maintained the renewed momentum of our business despite the quarter ending with the anniversary of the start of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
"The encouraging growth was broad-based, with all regions delivering top and bottom-line growth, enabling the group to deliver operating margins ahead of Q3 last year, while continuing to increase investment behind our Must Win Brands and new strategic capabilities.
"In the final quarter of this current financial year, as some of our brands come up against strong levels of demand in the base period, we intend to continue increasing investment behind building our brands and capabilities, to maintain momentum as we move to more normal comparatives.
"Looking ahead, we will continue to proactively navigate the volatility of the pandemic, the competitive landscape and commodity cost headwinds, but at the same time remain focused on executing the initial phase of our new strategy - 'Building Brands for Life, Today and for Future Generations'.
"We continue to take the appropriate steps to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees during the pandemic, and to ensure our supply chain remains resilient and fully operational.
"I'd like to thank our employees in all our markets for their continued dedication to PZ Cussons and our consumers."
