By Joshua Kirby
EssilorLuxottica, the leading eyewear company, experienced a deceleration in revenue growth during the third quarter, largely due to sluggish sales of sunglasses. Despite this, the company expressed confidence in achieving its long-term financial targets.
For the July-September period, the Franco-Italian giant generated a total revenue of 6.29 billion euros ($6.63 billion), a 5.2% increase compared to the same period last year after adjusting for currency effects. This figure met expectations from analysts surveyed by FactSet, although it marked a slight slowdown from the first half of the year.
Amid challenging market conditions, North America, EssilorLuxottica’s largest market, reported the slowest revenue growth, primarily driven by weak sunglasses sales, particularly at Sunglass Hut. In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, sunglass retail struggled due to unfavorable weather in July and August. However, revenue in the Asia-Pacific region experienced double-digit growth, despite tough comparisons to a strong quarter last year.
Despite these short-term challenges, EssilorLuxottica remains optimistic about its future prospects. The company stated that it is confident in achieving annual revenue growth in the mid-single digits between 2022 and 2026. Furthermore, the goal of attaining an adjusted operating margin of 19%-20% is within reach.
Francesco Milleri, CEO of EssilorLuxottica, and Paul du Saillant, Deputy CEO, expressed their commitment to leveraging the company’s strengths. They highlighted the establishment of a new joint frame-and-lens factory in Thailand as a testament to their expanding global presence.