AGM Statement

Paterson Zochonis PLC
6 November 2001

                            
                  PATERSON ZOCHONIS plc
                            
                            
         Chairman's Statement to Shareholders at
                 Annual General Meeting


Anthony  Green, Chairman of Paterson Zochonis  plc,  made
the  following  statement to shareholders at  the  Annual
General Meeting.

'The  operating results for 2001 are the highest achieved
by  the Paterson Zochonis group and reflect a significant
improvement in the performance of all our units.  I would
like  to  make  particular reference to  our  three  most
important units, Nigeria, Indonesia and the UK.

In Nigeria, the new civilian government continues to make
progress   in   reorganising  the  economy.    With   the
relatively  high level of oil prices and a commitment  to
reinvesting in the basic infrastructure of the country we
have experienced higher demand as consumer spending power
has  increased.  This trend is continuing into this  year
and  has given us confidence to reinvest further  in  our
subsidiary.   Currently we are expanding the capacity  of
our  soap  and  detergent factories  and  are  completely
overhauling our refrigerator and air conditioning factory
with our new Chinese partners, Haier.

Indonesia  achieved significant growth year on  year  and
again this trend is continuing this year as we expand our
distribution  network  with new  depots  and  expand  our
highly  successful  brands, in particular  Cussons  Baby,
Imperial Leather and Cussons Kids, with new products.  We
are  now  expanding the capacity of our factory  to  meet
demand.

The  UK  business  has achieved record profits  in  2001,
largely  as  a  result  of  our group-wide  programme  of
factory  efficiency improvement but also  from  the  very
successful  relaunch of Imperial Leather.   A  number  of
innovative products have been launched under the Imperial
Leather  banner and it is planned to introduce more  over
the  next  few months.  Imperial Leather is one of  eight
major sponsors of the Commonwealth Games to be held  here
in  Manchester next summer.  This will give us  a  unique
opportunity to promote the brand not only in the  UK  but
also  around  the  Commonwealth  in  countries  where  we
currently   trade,   such  as  Nigeria,   Kenya,   Ghana,
Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and the Camerouns.

Over the last two years we have generated nearly £100m in
funds  from  operations.  This year  the  trend  will  be
neutral  as  we invest in expansion in our  factories  in
Nigeria  and Indonesia and as we increase working capital
to meet the increased sales, particularly in Nigeria.

As  you will be aware, for some years now, we sought  and
received  approval from you to purchase our  own  shares.
With the recent improvement in our cash resources and the
relatively  low rating in our shares over  the  last  few
months we have purchased shares in the market. To date we
have spent approximately £17.5 million on this exercise.

Turning  to this financial year, to date operating  group
turnover  and  profits  show an  increase  on  last  year
particularly in Nigeria and Indonesia.  In both of  these
countries there are large Muslim populations but  so  far
we  have not experienced significant problems in the  way
our  business  is  conducted.   On  the  other  hand  the
collapse in world stock markets has impacted on the value
of   our  investment  portfolios.   Action  taken  before
September  11  has meant that we have minimised  this  by
reducing our equity exposure to less than £15 million  of
our total net funds.

In  summary,  we have achieved a considerable improvement
in operating performance over the last two years and have
been able to build our net funds to over £100m.

This continues to give us a wide variety of options as we
go forward.  In addition to our plans for organic growth,
we  are continuing to look for suitable acquisitions  and
joint  ventures in those countries in which  we  operate.
In  other  words  we are now focusing  on  expanding  our
business as well as seeking to improve our profitability,
especially in Nigeria and Indonesia.'


For further information contact

Graham Calder,  Finance Director         0161 491 8000
Paterson Zochonis plc


Terry Garrett / Josh Royston             0207 601 1000
Weber Shandwick Square Mile