Luxottica, which is the parent of Oakley and Sunglass Hut, reported consolidated sales were €1.15 billion ($1.71 bn) for the 2009 fourth quarter, down 6.4% (4.9% in constant-currency terms) from €1.23 billion ($1.62 bn) in the prior-year period.
Consolidated net income for the fourth quarter slid 8.4% (2.8% in constant-currency) to €35.5 million ($52.5 mm), compared with €38.8 million (52.1 mm) in Q4 2008. Operating income for the fourth quarter was down 34.5% to €76.9 million ($1.13 mm) from €117.4 million ($1.54 million) in Q4 2008.
For fiscal 2009, total Luxottica sales were €5.09 billion ($7.11 bn) down 2.1% (7.1% in constant-currency terms) from €5.20 billion ($7.65 bn) in the prior year. Total operating income for the fiscal year reached €583.2 million ($861.4 mm), down 22.3% from €749.8 ($988.8 mm) in the prior year.
The results achieved in 2009 confirmed once again the effectiveness of our integrated business model, which enabled Luxottica to continue reporting record-level sales, while at the same time generating free cash flow of nearly €700 million ($1.033 billion), said Andrea Guerra, Chief Executive Officer of Luxottica Group.
In 2010, Luxottica expects to continue on the growth track that it has been experiencing in emerging markets. Currently, these markets account for about 15% of wholesale sales. The company anticipates net revenue to remain relatively stable for 2010 with slight improvement to operating income resulting from increased efforts to reduce costs and expand product offerings.
