British soapmaker PZ Cussons first-half profit falls 8 pct

(Adds details, analyst comment, share movement)

Jan 27 (Reuters) - PZ Cussons Plc (LSE: PZC.L - news) , the maker of Imperial Leather soaps, said first-half profit fell 8.2 percent, hurt by continued unrest in northern Nigeria and devaluation of the currency Naira.

Cussons said it saw continued "challenging trading conditions" in Nigeria, hurting its revenue from Africa, which fell 6 percent to 156.2 million pounds.

Unrest in northeast Nigeria, scene of numerous attacks by Islamist militants, has made distributors and customers there more cautious.

Nigeria is Cussons' biggest market, though it also sells in Ghana and Kenya. Africa accounted for about 42 percent of Cussons' total revenue in the year ended May 31.

"There are few indications of a short-term improvement in the environment, with potentially some further disruption around the forthcoming presidential elections," Investec Securities analyst Nicola Mallard writes in a note.

The brokerage has a "hold" rating on the stock with a target price of 357 pence.

The British soap and shampoo maker said profit before tax and exceptional items fell to 43.7 million pounds ($65.95 million) for the six months to Nov. 30, from 47.6 million pounds last year.

The company, which also sells Carex handwash, Charles Worthington shampoos and St Tropez spray tan, said revenue fell 10.4 percent to 386.7 million pounds in the first half.

PZ Cussons raised its interim dividend to 2.61 pence from 2.53 pence a year earlier.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the company were up 1.1 percent at 314.5 pence at 0808 GMT in thin trading. ($1 = 0.6626 pounds) (Reporting by Aastha Agnihotri in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)