MILAN – Groupe SEB, a leading producer of small household appliances for professional and domestic use, as well as a world leader in the segment of professional coffee machines, listed on the Euronext in Paris, reported on Thursday nine-month sales of €5,532m (US$5.835 million), up 3.9% LFL (and down 0.5% on a reported basis).
This difference is due to a currency effect of -5.1% and a scope effect of 0.7% (linked to the acquisitions of Zummo, La San Marco and Pacojet).
Indeed, after posting a decline of 3.7% LFL in the first quarter, the Group began to recover in the second quarter, with sales growth of 6.8% LFL. In the third quarter, the Group confirmed this recovery with sales of €1,920m (US$2 billion), an increase of 8.9% LFL (+1.4% on a reported basis).
This performance is in line with the rebound trajectory envisaged by the Group at the start of the year, and bears out its ambition to achieve sales growth of around 5% (LFL) for the full year 2023.
For the first nine months of the year, the Consumer business generated sales of €4,835m, up 1.2% LFL (and down 4.4% on a reported basis). After a 6.6% drop in sales LFL in the first quarter, third-quarter sales were up 5.5% LFL, in line with the 5.2% LFL growth achieved in the second quarter.
This performance reflects the gradual improvement in business in the three main regions (Americas, EMEA and Asia) over the first nine months of the year, as well as a favorable basis for comparison. It was achieved in a soft market environment, marked by high inflation, which weighed down on consumer confidence and led to consumer spending trade-offs.
In the third quarter, the Groupe Seb ‘s ongoing solid sales growth was driven by the Americas (North and South), certain Western European countries such as France and Belgium, and Eastern Europe. China posted growth of 0.2%, reflecting Supor’s very solid performance in a particularly difficult market environment.
Groupe Seb thus demonstrated its strong resilience, based on a product mix that can be considered less discretionary than that of its competitors (thanks to its overexposure to basic products such as rice cookers and woks), allowing it to be less affected than the average for Small domestic equipment in China. Furthermore, Supor confirmed its ability to gain market share.
For the first nine months, Groupe SEB’s Professional business (professional coffee, hotel equipment, Zummo, Krampouz and Pacojet) reported sales of €697m, up 31% LFL and 38.3% on a reported basis.
This performance was mainly driven by record sales in the professional coffee segment (about 90% of the Professional business turnover, including the WMF, Schaerer, Wilbur Curtis and La San Marco brands), thanks to extremely dynamic business levels in all the Group’s main markets (notably China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany).
Momentum in the third quarter reached a record level thanks to the roll-out of major contracts around the world, notably Luckin Coffee in China, Greggs in the United Kingdom, and Quiktrip in the United States (boosted by the successful launch of the new Curtis Skyline machine).
This remarkable performance since the start of the year has been driven not only by the roll-out of major contracts, but also by a solid level of activity in the core business (sales of machines and services). It is undergirded by strong underlying demand from end consumers, attesting to the growing popularity and interest in coffee-based beverages worldwide.
The Group confirms its guidance given with the publication of its half-year results, and continues to target the following for the current full year:
- Mid-single digit LFL Group revenue growth with
- positive LFL revenue growth in Consumer
- strong LFL revenue growth in Professional
- At least 10% growth in Group ORFA
