As communicated in a official note, Groupe SEB generated revenue of €2,855 million over the period January-September 2014, an increase of 0.8%. On a like-for-like basis, revenue was up 4.5%. The €126 million negative FOREX impact on sales stemmed from the massive drop in certain currencies against the euro over the 9 months, with the yen, the real, the rouble and the Turkish lira being the most relevant ones. In third quarter 2014, the Group generated organic growth of 4.1%, led by continued strong momentum in China and significantly faster growth in France and the United States that contrasted with an on-going steep decline in Russia and Japan. Given a negative currency effect of €19 million, sales for the quarter were up 3% in euros.
As regards to ORFA, the Operating Result from Activity for the first nine months of 2014 stood at €191 million, down 17.9% on the prior-year period. The decline was significantly smaller than in the first half, reflecting an improvement in the situation in the third quarter, when operating result from activity amounted to €100 million, up 4.4%. On a like-for-like basis, operating result from activity rose by nearly 7% in the first nine months of the year and by nearly 15% in the third quarter, with a negative currency impact amounting to €57 million and €12 million respectively.
“This turnaround in operating profitability, in line with the Group’s expectations – the company explains – was due partly to sustained organic growth in sales, fuelled by increased investment in growth drivers and stronger marketing structures, and partly to optimized production costs and strict control of expenses. Despite price increases introduced in certain countries to offset the weakness of their local currency, the price-mix effect was virtually neutral, reflecting a very competitive and promotion-driven market environment as well as the country mix”.
Finally, as regards to the outlooks, Groupe SEB confirms its full-year objective of achieving sustained organic growth in revenue and a significant improvement – greater than in 2013 – in operating result from activity on a like-for-like basis. At the same time, the Group aims at maintaining a high level of investment in growth drivers. It also confirms its forecast of a roughly €80 million negative currency effect on 2014 operating result from activity.
