ECULLY, France – After a record year in 2021, Groupe SEB delivered a resilient performance in 2022 impacted by a return to more normal consumer behaviour and by the war in Ukraine. Group performance was driven by China and Professional, deteriorated by France/Germany (high comps) and Russia/Ukraine (impact of the war).
The Small Domestic Equipment market has shown good resilience against a very high 2021 history while the Professional market has continued its recovery.
In the first nine months of the year, Groupe SEB generated €5,560m in sales, virtually stable compared with record performance of September 30, 2021.
The 4.3% organic decline (-€239m) was almost fully offset by a positive 4.1% contribution from currencies (€229m, mostly related to the Chinese yuan and US dollar). These figures reflect a sharper 8.1% LFL decrease in sales in the third quarter.
At €5,056m, sales in the Consumer business at end-September were down by a slight 1.2% compared to a nine-month growth of 19.8% in 2021 vs 2020. The LFL decrease was 5.2%, exacerbated by an 8.8% decline in the third quarter. These figures must be considered in the context of very high base effects in 2021.
This is especially the case for France and Germany. Representing more than 20% of Group sales, these two countries have been impacted by the three following negatives:
- the rebalancing of household consumption towards other sectors to the detriment of Small Domestic Equipment, a market that contracted by 7% at end-September;
- a penalizing category mix effect (cooking categories overweighted and oversold during the Covid period);
- the non-recurrence in 2022 of major loyalty programs (impact -€61m).
Also France was affected by a trade destocking effect which impacted the sell-in of our products and has favoured private labels in the short term.
In addition, in Russia and Ukraine, sales fell by €57m on a reported basis over the nine months, with a negative 1.0 pt impact on the Group’s sales growth.
In contrast, business in China continued to improve, largely boosted by e-commerce. The momentum was driven by woks and kitchen tools, electrical cooking, linen care, floor care and large kitchen appliances. During the 3rd quarter, Supor continued to outperform the market and bolstered its leadership positions in electrical cooking, online, as well as in cookware.
Sales in the Professional business stood at €504m for the nine-month period, up 10.7% including 6% organic growth. The sales stability in Q3 (-0.2% LFL) was due entirely to the high history of signed contracts in Professional Coffee in the US and the UK in 2021. The performance of the core business was very satisfactory and confirmed the business recovery in both equipment and services. At the same time, the Group continued to develop its business with Luckin Coffee in China.
Groupe Seb: Professional Business
The Professional business (Professional Coffee, Hotel Equipment, Zummo and Krampouz) generated nine-month sales of €504m, up 10.7% LFL. This growth is the result of:
- a high basis of comparison due to the contracts signed in Professional Coffee in the US and the UK in 2021.
- and a robust core business – machines and services – in Professional Coffee (progression of +15,4% LFL over the first nine months), based on the expansion and diversification of the client portfolio, strong growth in the services activities and the two-digit growth performance by Wilbur Curtis in the United States leading to market share gains.
In 2022, the Group continues to develop its business with Luckin Coffee in China.
At the same time, after a particularly brisk first half, sales momentum remained strong in the Hotel Equipment business in the third quarter at close to 30% at constant exchange rates.
