Firm That Spurred Soap Operas in U.K in Drama All Its Own
- PZ Cussons shares plunge after profit outlook missed estimates
- Imperial Leather maker to reassess operating structure
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg
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Its 1950s ads interrupting broadcasts of much-loved TV shows helped popularize the phrase “soap opera.” These days PZ Cussons Plc is caught up in a drama all of its own with setbacks in two key markets sending the shares tumbling as much as 28 percent on Thursday.
The maker of Imperial Leather soap had its worst decline on record in London trading after PZ Cussons forecast profit before tax for this year of 80 million pounds ($112 million) to 85 million pounds, lower than the average 98.5 million pounds estimated by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.