Tefal pans are displayed in a supermarket in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina October 29, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

(Reuters) -Shares of Tefal pan manufacturer SEB plunged 21% on Monday after it cut its annual profit and revenue forecast for the second time this year, saying sales in Europe have been slower than expected and U.S. consumers and business clients have adopted a "wait and see" attitude.

SEB, which also makes Rowenta irons and Krups coffee machines, slashed its annual operating profit forecast to between 550 million euros and 600 million euros ($702.90 million), from 700 million to 750 million euros previously.

Consumers in the euro zone have reduced their spending on non-essentials, a European Central Bank survey found in September, and in the U.S. consumer confidence has fallen as the labour market weakens and shoppers expect higher tariffs on imports to cause inflation.

SEB raised its prices in the U.S. earlier this year as a response to higher tariffs on products it imports into the country. It makes flagship products like Tefal pans in France and other European factories, and small electrical appliances, including kettles and coffee machines, in China.

Better sales in Asia and South America and successful recent product launches are not sufficient to offset a weaker Europe and U.S., the company said. Western Europe accounted for 35% of SEB's consumer sales in 2024.

SEB's shares dropped 21% to 52 euros by 0805 GMT, their lowest in more than a decade and trailing at the bottom of Pan-European benchmark index STOXX 600.

SEB said sales growth in 2025 would be stable to slightly positive, having previously forecast growth of between 2% and 4%, and third-quarter sales would show a "slight" decline.

SEB already lowered its profit and sales forecast in July, but said at the time that it expected a rebound in the second half.

"The pace of recovery is sluggish in a number of European countries and, above all, there is persistent weakness in North America amid deteriorating consumer spending," said Arnaud Despre, analyst at BNP Paribas's asset management subsidiary Portzamparc.

SEB shares gained during the pandemic as lockdowns drove a surge in home cooking but has since fallen back. The stock has lost around 25% of its value since the start of this year.

($1 = 0.8536 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Helen Reid)