Coffee Service

SEB Groupe reports stable sales in first 9 months of 2022

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October 25, 2022

SEB Groupe, a French consortium that owns Montebellow, California-based Wilbur Curtis Co., reported stable sales for the first nine months of 2022 compared to the prior year period, according to an earnings report. Highlights include:

• The company generated €5,56 billion ($5.5 billion) in sales, virtually stable compared with record performance of Sept, 30, 2021.
• A 4.3% organic sales decline was almost fully offset by a positive 4.1% contribution from currencies, mostly related to the Chinese yuan and U.S. dollar. These figures reflect a sharper 8.1% like-for-like decrease in sales in the third quarter.
• Sales in Russia and Ukraine sales fell by €57 million ($56.34 million) on a reported basis over the nine months.
• In contrast, business in China continued to improve, largely boosted by e-commerce.
• Sales in the company's professional business stood at €504 million ($498.17 million) for the nine-month period, up 10.7% including 6% organic growth. This growth was the result of a high basis of comparison due to the contracts signed in professional coffee in the U.S. and the U.K. in 2021 and a robust core business — machines and services — in professional coffee 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 U.S.
• In Western Europe, the decline in sales observed in Q2 deepened in the third quarter on a demanding 2021 comparison.
• The decline in sales in the other Europe, Middle East and Africa countries eased significantly in Q3, with a high comparison basis with 2021. The persistence of the war in Ukraine and its consequences continued to impact sales which were reduced by €80 million ($79.97 million) or 33% since the start of the year.
• For North America, the difference between reported growth and the contraction in sales at constant exchange rates reflected the substantial appreciation of the region's three currencies. In particular, the U.S. dollar fell below parity with the Euro at the end of the summer.
• On a like-for-like basis, sales at the end of September were down 9.5% on the back of a 21% growth in 2021.
• Sales were up 2.2% LFL in South America, despite weaker performances in the third quarter.
• In China, the group delivered a solid 5.5% organic sales growth over the nine-month period. E-commerce, and more specifically new platforms such as TikTok and Pinduoduo, remains the primary growth driver and represented 67% of total domestic sales.

With the contrasting performance in Q3, the group is revising its guidance for 2022, now expecting sales of around €7.9 billion ($7.81 billion).

"After a year in 2021 that brought our performance to record levels driven by the consumption of small domestic equipment during the COVID pandemic, the group is holding up well over the first nine months of 2022 in an unfavorable inflationary environment," Stanislas de Gramont, CEO of SEB Groupe, said in the press release.