Groupe SEB Launches €200M Savings Plan Amid Margin Pressure

Despite steady sales across key European markets—including Italy, Spain, and France—Groupe SEB is facing a sharp 40% drop in operating margins. The downturn comes even as new product innovations, such as floor scrubbers, continue to perform well regionally.

In response, CEO Stanislas de Gramont has unveiled a strategic €200 million cost-saving initiative aimed at restoring profitability. The plan, set to roll out through 2027, reflects the group’s commitment to operational efficiency and long-term resilience in a challenging economic climate.

As the home appliance sector navigates inflationary pressures and shifting consumer demand, Groupe SEB’s move signals a broader trend toward leaner, smarter growth strategies.

Arçelik Group Reports Mixed Q2 Performance: Sales Drop, Margins Improve

In the second quarter, Arçelik Group—the parent company of Beko and majority shareholder of Beko Europe—reported a year-on-year revenue decline of 11.5%, falling from 137 billion Turkish lira to 121 billion. Despite the downturn, the multinational remains balanced in its geographical revenue distribution: one-third from Turkey (where the market remains resilient), one-third from Europe (facing notable headwinds), and one-third from global markets (where strategic investments are beginning to pay off).
– 📊 Regional volume shifts:
  – Italy: +5%
  – Spain: +10%
  – France & Germany: Declines
– 🌍 Total European sales rose just 1.4% in volume, indicating modest recovery amid operational challenges.
Financial Snapshot: Margins Up, Debt Weighs

While operating costs continue to strain profitability, a weaker U.S. dollar—used to purchase raw materials and components—boosted gross margin from 27.2% to 28.4%.

– ⚖️ EBITDA increased from 4.9% to 5.9%, reflecting operational efficiency.
– 🧾 Arçelik reports progress on its workforce restructuring, having completed two-thirds of planned office staff reductions.
– 📉 However, a debt burden of 7 billion Turkish lira led to a net quarterly loss of 3 billion.

LG Home Appliance Solution – Q2 2025 Snapshot

LG’s HS Company delivered record second-quarter results: 
– Revenue: KRW 6.59 trillion 
– Operating Profit: KRW 439.9 billion 

Despite global challenges, LG maintained strong margins through: 
– A dual-market strategy for premium & mass consumers 
– An 18% YoY boost in appliance subscriptions 
– Expansion of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales via LGE.COM 
– Continued production and operational efficiencies 

Looking ahead, LG aims to further grow its subscription and D2C businesses while navigating tariff impacts and easing logistics costs.

LG results

LG Electronics Inc. (LG) today announced its preliminary earnings results for the second-quarter of 2025, reporting a consolidated revenue of KRW 20.74 trillion and operating profit of KRW 639.1 billion.

Both revenue and operating profit declined year-over-year. The slowdown reflects continued weakness in consumer sentiment across major markets and an increasingly challenging external environment. In particular, changes in U.S. trade policy led to higher tariff costs and intensified market competition, further weighing on performance.Home appliance solutions business is maintaining a strong presence in the premium market and also achieving success in the volume zone lineups despite softening demand due to changes in U.S. trade policy and geopolitical risks in the Middle East, while its subscription model continues to perform steadily. In the second half, logistics costs are expected to ease, allowing the company to focus on securing sales, minimizing tariff impacts and ensuring a sound profit structure through operational efficiency

Currys Surges Ahead with 37% Profit Boost

Currys has delivered a standout performance, raising its annual profit by 37% to £162 million for the year ending 3 May 2025—beating market expectations on the back of robust UK sales and a surge in demand for tech services and credit options.

💹 Key Financial Highlights:
– Group revenue climbed 3% year-on-year, reaching £8.7 billion.
– UK and Ireland like-for-like sales jumped 4%, reflecting solid consumer engagement.
– Recurring service revenue rose 12%, while credit sales soared 14% to hit £1.1 billion.
– Mobile subsidiary **iD Mobile** welcomed 450,000 new customers, lifting its subscriber base by 26% to 2.2 million.
– **Statutory pre-tax profit** saw a dramatic rise to £124 million, up from just £28 million a year earlier.

🚀 CEO Alex Baldock praised the company’s trajectory, stating: _“Currys’ performance continues to strengthen and the business has real momentum

Midea profit

Midea increased its revenue by 8% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023: 103 billion yuan, equal to 13.3 billion euros. Profit rose more than proportionally (15%) to 11 billion yuan equal to 1.4 billion euros with a margin of 11%

In the first nine months of the year, sales were almost 10% higher than in the first nine months of 2023, and profit was 14.4% higher

Midea Group grows 10% in H1, surpasses 200 billion yuan

The first half of 2024, Midea Group ‘s revenue exceeded 200 billion yuan, reaching 218.1 billion yuan (27.54 billion euros), an increase of 10%. Even better, profits rose by 14% to 20.8 billion yuan (2.6 billion euros).

Domestic sales increased 8% while exports rose 13%. In the half year, Midea invested 7.66 billion yuan in its 17 R&D centers, up 16%, and produced 5,000 patents.

Elica suffers in the second quarter

Elica continues to invest in its future but the present, or perhaps it would be better to say the recent past, does not yet reward the courageous efforts of the Fabriano company. In the first half of 2024, turnover fell by 6.3% but on closer inspection the second quarter (- 4%) went better than the first quarter.

What has improved? Production for third parties (OEM) which grew by 9.3% in the second quarter also in the Engines segment thanks to new customers in America and sales of own brand products also in America. The weakness of demand depresses sales and margins especially in Europe and the Middle East where Elica generates 80% of its turnover. In the Cooking division, own brand sales fell by 10% between the first half of 2024 and that of 2023
“In the ventilation sector, market shares have increased. However, the margin declined from 10% in the first half to 7% in the second half. The company attributes this drop to a negative price mix and intense promotional activity, as stated in their press release. Additionally, the accounts for the first half were impacted by significant investments in rebranding, product repositioning, and participation in Eurocucina. Despite these challenges, the EBITDA decreased from 14 million in the first half of 2023 to 5.1 million in 2024. On a positive note, the margin appears to have improved from 1.5% in the first quarter to 2.8% in the second quarter,

De Longhi results

The Group achieved an expansion in turnover of more than 10% also in the second quarter, benefiting both from the consolidation of the professional coffee area and from the continuation of positive trends in the core categories. Over the last few months, we were able to successfully capitalize on structural coffee market growth, further increasing our market share, as well as meeting consumers’ new needs in the nutrition and food preparation segment, also thanks to the recent launches of new products that are increasingly focused on a consumer approach to a healthy diet”, commented  CEO Fabio de’ Longhi. revenues of € 1,423.7 million, up by 10.3% (+3.5% on a like-for-like basis and +4.2% on a like for like
basis and constant currencies);
o adjusted2 Ebitda at € 204.7 million, equal to 14.4% of revenues (compared to 12.4% achieved in the first
half of 2023);
o net income pertaining to the Group of € 106.2 million, up by 28.4%;
o free cash flow before dividends and acquisitions of € 74.3 million.
In the second quarter:
o revenues of € 764.9 million, up by 11.0% (+1.5% on a like-for-like basis, with the household business
excluding comfort segment growing by +6.9%);
o Ebitda adjusted at €110.9 million, equal to 14.5% of revenues (marked improvement from 12.5% in 2023);
Net financial position as of June 30, 2024 was positive by € 305.3 million, after the net absorption of € 326.8
million in relation to the closing of the business combination between La Marzocco and Eversys.

Currys Profit to Remain Flat

Currys is scheduled to report results for fiscal 2024 on Thursday. Here is what you need to know.

SALES FORECAST: For the year ended April 29, revenue is expected to fall to 8.62 billion pounds ($10.93 billion) from GBP9.51 billion a year ago, according to a company-compiled consensus. On a like-for-like basis, sales are expected to drop 2%, according to consensus taken from FactSet based on five analysts’ estimates Shares over the past 12 months are up 44%, and up 50% since the start of the year, mainly boosted by a bidding war between JD.com and Elliott Advisors. However, both parties walked away without making an offer.