Carex soap sales 40% higher than before Covid-19

Sales of Carex soap are still much higher than they were two years ago even as vaccines are rolled out across Europe and North America.

The maker of the soap, PZ Cussons, said on Wednesday that revenue from Carex is 40% higher than it was two years ago.

Yet the company has given back some of the gains its hygiene products, including Carex, made in the early days of the pandemic.

Over the three months to the end of August, revenue decreased by 9% compared to the same period in 2020, mainly because of its hygiene business.

Much of this can be traced back to Carex. This time last year there were very few discounted offers for customers to buy Carex as soap was in high demand.

Today discounting has returned to more normal levels.

Yet compared to this period before the pandemic two years ago revenue is 13% higher, PZ Cussons said.

“The medium-term outlook remains in line with our expectations and we have confidence that our brand and market portfolio will emerge strongly once we cycle through the unprecedented demand for hygiene products at the start of the pandemic,” said chief executive Jonathan Myers.

“We continue to navigate the well-publicised inflationary pressures on commodities and freight.”

The company returned to growth in August and expects this to continue throughout the second quarter of this financial year.

Mr Myers said that the company will bring low to mid single-digit revenue growth across the 12 months.

In the financial year ending in May, pre-tax profit grew 245% to £63.2 million on revenues of £603.3 million.

Mr Myers said: “This was set against a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw unprecedented levels of demand for hygiene products.

“Our brands were available for our consumers when they needed them most and we retained market leadership – both with Carex in the UK and Morning Fresh in Australia.

“We were also pleased with the strong performance of our baby and beauty businesses, as consumer hygiene habits start to normalise.”