Luxottica Sunglass Hut's comparable store sales go up
07 Nov '06
3 min read
Luxottica Group S.p.A. announced consolidated U.S. GAAP results for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2006. Consolidated results for both periods reflect the sale of the Things Remembered business in September of this year, which is reported under U.S.
GAAP as a discontinued operation. Consequently, results of the Things Remembered business for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005 and 2006 are not included in the Group's consolidated sales, operating income and net income from continuing operations reported.
Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Luxottica Group, commented: "After nine months of extremely positive results, today our business is strong with both wholesale and retail on track to deliver a record year." Mr. Guerra continued: "Cash flow generation was again one of the highlights of our results, with euro 129 million for the quarter."
Consolidated results for the third quarter continued to be strong all around, in all regions and in both the wholesale and retail businesses. The Group continued to outpace the sector, gaining additional penetration in key markets as well as greater visibility for its portfolio of leading luxury and fashion brands. This resulted in further improvements in profitability, with operating margin rising significantly by 140 basis points to 16.6%.
The third quarter was a record period for the Group's wholesale business, with sales to third parties -- a key measure of the wholesale business -- rising by 27.8% and operating margin up by 220 basis points to 24.5%, in line with all-time highs for the wholesale division.
marketing@alchempro.com
