Luxottica Group reported its North America sales accelerated in the quarter and that its sunglassess businesses continued to set the pace globally at both it Wholesale and Retail divisions. Ray-Ban and Oakley drove a 9.9 percent currency-neutral increase in North American Wholesale revenues, while comparable store sales at Sunglass Hut reached 9.9 percent globally.


 

The Italian optical giant said sales accelerated in North America during the quarter. Still, the most dramatic growth continued to come from emerging markets, where Wholesale revenues grew 10.3 percent in currency-neutral terms (c-n) and Retail revenues increased 4.3  percent c-n on top of stout growth a year earlier.

 

“Looking ahead, we are entering the second half of the year with confidence and optimism,” said Luxottica’s CEO Andrea Guerra. “We laid the groundwork for even more robust growth due to the huge commitment and outstanding work from the entire Group since the start of the year. Moreover, we believe that the negative exchange rate effect will gradually decline thanks to a more favorable basis of comparison between the major currencies”.

 

Wholesale Division
The Wholesale Division’s total net sales increased 10.3 percent c-n to €935 million for the quarter and 9.2 percent c-n to €1.74 billion for the first six months of the year.

 

The robust growth came on top of 10.3 percent c-n growth in the same quarter of 2013. China, Brazil, India, Turkey, North America, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries delivered the strongest performance.
The ongoing success of Oakley and Ray-Ban in all markets and solid results in the premium and luxury segment drove Luxottica’s results in the quarter in terms of both net sales and profitability.

 

The Wholesale Division’s operating income reached €262 million during the quarter, up 8.4 percent from an adjusted €242 million in the second quarter of 2013. Operating margin increased to 28.1 percent from an adjusted 27.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013. For the first half of the year, the Wholesale Division’s operating income amounted to €456 million, an increase of 6.0 percent from an adjusted €430 million in the first half of 2013. Operating margin increased to 26.2 percent in the first half of 2014 from adjusted 25.9 percent in the same period of 2013.

 

Retail Division
Net sales for the Retail Division were €1.13 billion in the second quarter of 2014, up 4.3 percent c-n and down 1.1 percent at current exchange rates compared to €1.14 billion in the second quarter of 2013. Net sales for the Retail Division were €2.16 billion in the first half of 2014 compared to €2.22 billion in the first half of 2013, which translates to a 3.0 percent gain at c-n rates and a 2.6 percent decline at current exchange rates.

 

The Retail Division’s operating income for the second quarter of 2014 rose to €182 million, with an increase of 1.5 percent compared to €180 million in the same period of 2013. Operating margin increased from 15.8 percent in the second quarter of 2013 to 16.2 percent in the second quarter of 2014. The Retail Division’s operating income for the first half of the year was €307 million, a decrease of 1.6 percent compared to €312 million in the first half of 2013. The Retail Division’s operating margin increased from 14.0 percent in the first half of 2013 to 14.2 percent in the first half of 2014.

 

Sunglass Hut, the Group’s sun specialty chain, Sunglass Hut globally increased comparable store sales by 9.9 percent, driven by excellent results in Iberia, South Africa and Latin America and robust growth in North America.