The eyewear group, which owns the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands and manufacturers licenced glasses for a range of well-known fashion houses such as Bvlgari, Burberry Polo, and Prada among others, also reported a 34 percent rise in earnings per share for the year to EUR0.88. Net income rose 34.5 percent to EUR402.2 million from EUR299.1 in fiscal 2009.
Luxottica said its financial results reflected strong growth of net sales and a more proportionate increase in profitability relative to sales growth, as well as improved financial leverage. The Milan-based company voiced optimism that its robust growth would continue during 2011, following a strong performance during January and February 2011, particularly in the United States where its comparable store sales are up six percent compared with the same period of 2010. Like many companies in the retail sector, Luxottica said it would be focusing on emerging markets in the coming year, particularly in Brazil, China and India. The company said it was also seeking to grow its US business, and the Oakley brand. Luxottica’s net sales for fiscal 2010 rose over 13 percent to EUR5.8 billion. The firm also announced it was raising its cash dividend for the year by 25.7 percent to EUR0.44 per share.
Luxottica Group S.p.A. (Luxottica) is engaged in the design, manufacture and distribution of prescription frames and sunglasses in the premium and luxury segments. The company operates through two business segments, namely, Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution and Retail Distribution. Its products are sold and marketed through a network of wholesale and retail distributors in more than 130 countries around the world. Its wholesale network consists of 43 subsidiaries has nine logistics centers and 30 commercial branches providing direct operations in the major markets. The company has manufacturing facilities in Italy, the US, China and India.
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 sales of the Wholesale division and about 7% of the Group’s consolidated sales, practically double that of only five years ago. The Group intends to achieve significant growth in Asia and Latin America, specifically focusing on Brazil, China and India. With this in mind, in 2010 it will launch specially designed Ray-Ban collections and special projects for these countries, with the objective of stimulating demand and increasing the penetration of Luxottica’s brands. Other actions planned for the current year include completing Oakley’s integration in Brazil and South Africa and launching the STARS project in Latin America, India and Eastern Europe. In addition, the Group will continue to make small and medium-size investments in these markets, as it seeks new opportunities in these regions for the Retail division, for Sunglass Hut in particular.