SEB: Provisional Sales at December 31, 2001 - In Line with Forecasts


PARIS, Jan. 15, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- SEB (Paris Stock Exchange:12170)


 At constant             Dec. 31, 2001     % Change    % Change
 consolidation scope     EUR millions                  at constant
                                                       exchange rates
 
 France                      511              5.2          5.2
 Other EU countries          553              3.7          4.2
 Americas                    441           - 12.7        - 8.0
 Other countries             311              3.6          5.3
 TOTAL                     1,816            - 0.5          1.3

Full-year sales were in line with forecasts, although the regional breakdown shows mixed results, notably in the fourth quarter.

Year-end sales were very strong in France thanks partly to one-time market share gains because retailers no longer had certain Moulinex products in stock.

In the rest of the EU, the favorable trend seen over the last few months grew stronger in the fourth quarter. Groupe SEB sales rose in almost all European countries. In Germany, where sales declined 3%, the Group pursued its turnaround strategy by putting operating profitability ahead of sales volumes.

In the Americas, sales decreased 12.7% from the year-earlier period, with the decline particularly noticeable in the US and Brazil.


 -- US sales, which were down slightly at September 30, plummeted 21%
    in dollar terms in the fourth quarter following the September 11
    terrorist attacks. Full-year sales declined by 9.6% to $201
    million (EUR 224 million).
 
 -- In Brazil, the fall in sales amounted to EUR 54 million, due in
    equal parts to the deprecation of the real and the implementation
    of an energy savings program that significantly impacted appliance
    sales starting in June. Full-year sales were down 15% to 240
    million reals (EUR 113 million).

Sales in other countries, which increased by 3.6% to EUR 311 million, reflected contrasting trends:


 -- In Turkey, the Group felt the full impact of currency devaluation
    and recession, which pushed down sales by EUR 44 million to EUR 23
    million.
 
 -- Performance was very satisfactory in the other countries, with
    continued strong growth in the CIS, South Korea and Central
    Europe.

Quarterly Sales by Region


 EUR         France    Other EU    Americas    Other   Total   %Change
  millions                                   countries
 At constant
 Consoli-
 dation
 scope
        2001  2000  2001  2000  2001  2000  2001  2000  2001  2000
 
 Q1     100   102   118   118   105   104   73    67    396   391  1.3
 Q2     114   111   127   122   97    102   71    67    409   402  1.7
 Q3     110   107   122   121   115   132   70    71    417   431 -3.2
 Q4     187   164   186   172   124   167   97    96    594   599 -0.8
 Total  511   484   553   533   441   505   311  301   1816  1823 -0.5

 Including      Dec. 31, 2001     % Change     % Change
 Moulinex       EUR millions                   At constant
 assets taken                                  exchange rates
 over
 
 France                  528           8.8        8.8
 Other EU countries      568           6.4        6.9
 Americas                443        - 12.3      - 7.6
 Other countries         314           4.6        6.5
 TOTAL                 1,853           1.6        3.3

Groupe SEB's reported 2001 sales of EUR 1,853 million include two months of sales from the businesses taken over from Moulinex. The additional EUR 37 million:


 -- Was generated under a business lease in France in effect since
    October 29, 2001. 
 
 -- Include the sale of Moulinex and Krups inventories by certain of
    Groupe SEB's European subsidiaries.
 
 -- Do not include the sales of Moulinex foreign subsidiaries that
    were not consolidated in 2001.

In light of the partial takeover of Moulinex assets, and of the gradual re-launch of the plants the two-month sales figure of EUR 37 million should not be extrapolated over a full year.



            

Contact Data