PZ Cussons Nigeria financially distressed as liabilities surpass assets

PZ Cussons Nigeria is facing possibly its biggest existential problem since setting foot in the country 125 years ago after Nigeria’s harrowing foreign exchange crisis plunged the country deeper into troubled waters.

The local unit of British healthcare products and consumer goods giant PZ Cussons Plc slipped into a negative net asset position after a free fall in the value of the naira eroded earnings and wiped out its shareholders’ fund in its entirety.

Nigeria is the biggest and most diverse single market of PZ Cussons, which has footprints in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Africa.

Negative net asset is a financial condition whereby a company’s total liabilities exceed its total assets.

PZ Cussons Nigeria is the maker of formidable brands, including King’s Vegetable Oil, Mamador, Morning Fresh, Premier Cool, Joy Soap and Robb.

Analysts say, “If they have a lot of borrowings and payables in foreign currencies, it is going to be an issue because the moment the exchange rate improves, the value of the loan will come down (in naira terms). If their revenue is poor and they have a lot of receivables, there will be problems.”