ECULLY CEDEX, France–Groupe SEB reported a profit of $49.6 million, after income tax expense, for the first half of 2009, down from $82.6 million from the first half of 2008, the company said in a statement.
Revenue for the period was $1.97 billion, down from $2.04 billion in the first half of 2008.
Its business of “small household equipment” held up for the first half of the year, Groupe SEB said, despite the difficult economy. The success of the company’s flagship products, such as the Actifry deep fryer, the Silence Force and Air Force vacuum cleaners and the Dolce Gusto pod beverage maker, drove its “resilient sales,” the statement added.
“Our business—small household equipment—held up better than other industries and the Group, with operations around the world, maintained its strong product dynamic, thereby limiting the decline in first-half sales,” said Thierry de La Tour d’Artaise, chairman and chief executive officer.
The company also implemented several tactics to preserve operating margin, which included increasing prices to offset currency declines and cost reduction programs, as well as “tightened management of working capital,” de La Tour d’Artaise said.
In addition, “we deployed the resources needed to prepare for the future and to reaffirm our long-term strategy, which is based on innovation, continued international expansion and ongoing improvements to make the Group more competitive,” de La Tour d’Artaise said.