Cigna earnings beat by $0.04, revenue topped estimates
Investing.com -- Groupe SEB (EPA:SEBF) shares plunged 12% on Thursday after the company slashed its full-year forecast and reported a sharp drop in quarterly profit, hit by a collapse in North American sales and a steeper-than-expected earnings miss.
Second-quarter revenue was €1.84 billion, down 1% from consensus, with like-for-like sales growth of 1.9%, below the 2.4% expected.
Foreign exchange effects reduced sales by 3.1%, while scope effects added 0.9%. Operating result from activity (ORFA) came in at €69 million, missing the €115 million consensus. The ORFA margin stood at 3.7%, against expectations of around 6%.
North American like-for-like sales plunged by 11.5%, a much steeper decline than the anticipated 4.4% drop.
Groupe SEB attributed the shortfall to delays in customer orders related to tariffs and disrupted import patterns.
South America fell 8.4% due to tough comparisons. In contrast, Western Europe grew 6.8%, exceeding expectations.
China rose 3.2%, slightly below the 3.7% forecast, and the rest of Asia grew 4.9%, also underperforming estimates. Sales in the rest of EMEA were flat amid geopolitical instability.
Consumer business sales increased 1.6%, short of the 3% consensus. The professional segment returned to growth at 3.5% like-for-like, outperforming expectations of a 1.2% decline.
First-half revenue reached €3.748 billion, with organic growth of 0.6%. First-half ORFA totaled €119 million, 28% below consensus, with a margin of 3.2%.
The figure represented a near 50% year-over-year decline, driven by a €59 million foreign exchange hit, a €40 million drop in professional coffee contribution, a €20 million impact from North America, and €60 million in additional growth-related costs.
Free cash flow for the first half was negative €213 million, similar to the €214 million outflow a year earlier.
The company cited elevated inventories due to Red Sea disruptions and tariff-related uncertainty, alongside €160 million in capital expenditure for a professional coffee hub in China and a logistics center in France.
Groupe SEB now expects 2025 organic sales growth of 2% to 4%, down from a previous estimate of about 5%.
It forecasts ORFA between €700 million and €750 million, below the €802 million recorded in 2024.
The revised outlook implies second-half organic sales growth of 3.2% to 6.8% and ORFA growth of 4% to 13%.
Management said foreign exchange effects should become a net positive in the second half, and that the professional segment will be supported by recurring business.
Price increases in the U.S. were implemented to offset tariff impacts. The company expects further contribution from volume and price mix in the second half but flagged continued uncertainty in North America.
The new ORFA midpoint is 12% below the current consensus for the year which also flagged the weaker-than-expected second-quarter results and the full-year forecast revision.