MILAN, Italy (BRAIN)—Oakley’s parent company reported its best sales period of the year in the third quarter as European markets showed signs of recovery and the troubled North American market began to stabilize.
“Now that we are approaching the end of a year as demanding as 2009, we believe that the worst is behind us. Flexibility, speed, the ongoing search for new solutions and a continued focus on the balance sheet have enabled Luxottica to post positive results even in a period as difficult as what we experienced,” said Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Luxottica Group, in a press release. “For the second consecutive quarter Luxottica saw growth in sales and, most importantly, for the first nine months of the year results are much in line with last year.”
Luxottica reported sales of 1.223 billion euros in the three-month period that ended September 30, compared with $1.212 billion euros for the same time last year (down 1.4 percent when considering a constant exchange rate).
Luxottica Group did not break out specific numbers for Oakley, but said that the brand carried strong momentum through the third quarter. Oakley’s new Jawbone, released earlier this summer, boosted the wholesale division with a positive reception in the market.
Guerra said he is optimistic about the future.
“We are working to make sure that 2010 is again a normal year, in which we enjoy growth in sales, a solid improvement in profitability, greater than the growth in sales, as well as strong free cash flow generation and deleveraging,” he said.
Besides Oakley, Luxottica owns Ray-Ban, Revo, Vogue, Persol, Oliver Peoples and Arnette and licenses nearly a dozen other luxury eyewear brands.
—Nicole Formosa
