CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France,
October 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --
Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, today
announced its consolidated revenue for the nine months ended
September 30, 2010.
Nine-month consolidated revenue
EUR millions 2010 2009 % Change % Change Contribution
(reported*) (like-for-like) from
(9 months)(9 months) acquisitions
Lenses and 2,685.0 2,396.5 +12.0% +2.5% +4.2%
Optical
Instruments
Europe 1,047.1 989.4 +5.8% +0.8% +4.1%
North America 1,162.8 1,051.5 +10.6% +1.3% +3.8%
Asia-Pacific & 333.6 259.7 +28.5% +8.4% +5.7%
Africa
Latin America 141.5 95.9 +47.5% +18.5% +5.5%
Equipment 91.6 71.9 +27.4% +10.6% +16.8%
Readers 127.2 - N/M N/M N/M
TOTAL 2,903.8 2,468.5 +17.6% +2.8% +9.7%
*Currency effect: +5.1%
Consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2010 amounted
to EUR2,903.8 million, up 17.6%
compared with the prior-year period. On a like-for-like basis,
revenue rose by 2.8%, led by strong growth in sales in emerging
markets and the sharp recovery in the Equipment Division.
Changes in the scope of consolidation accounted for 9.7% of
reported growth, of which 3.1% for bolt-on acquisitions and 6.6%
for strategic acquisitions (Signet Armorlite and FGX
International).
The 5.1% positive currency effect resulted mainly from the
appreciation against the euro of the US and Canadian dollars, the
Brazilian real and, to a lesser extent, the Australian dollar.
For the nine months ended September
30, Essilor reported 5.9% revenue growth excluding the
currency effect and strategic acquisitions, in line with its
full-year objective.
Third quarter revenue up 21.4%
Consolidated revenue
EUR millions Q3 Q3 % Change % Change Contribution
2010 2009 (reported*) (like-for-like) from
acquisitions
Lenses and 898.0 782.9 +14.7% +2.6% +4.4%
Optical
Instruments
Europe 339.4 324.3 +4.7% -0.4% +4.0%
North 386.4 333.4 +15.9% +1.8% +3.7%
America
Asia-Pacific 119.4 89.6 +48.3% +9.1% +7.4%
& Africa
Latin 52.8 35.6 +33.3% +21.7% +6.2%
America
Equipment 31.5 22.1 +42.1% +14.7% +27.5%
Readers 47.5 - N/M N/M N/M
TOTAL 977.0 805.1 +21.4% +3.0% +10.9%
*Currency effect: +7.5%
In the third quarter, consolidated revenue rose by 21.4% on a
reported basis.
The 3% like-for-like increase confirms the upswing in demand
observed during the first half in a still uncertain business
environment.
The impact of changes in the scope of consolidation added 10.9%
to growth, of which 2.9% from bolt-on acquisitions and 8% from
strategic acquisitions.
Lastly, the decline in the euro against the Company's other
billing currencies had a 7.5% positive impact on third-quarter
revenue.
Performance by region and by division was as follows:
- A still-fragile recovery in Europe, where the overall performance was
affected by weakness in the Instruments Division, due to a high
basis of comparison. In the corrective lens segment, sales
continued to trend upwards in France while demand improved in Germany, the United
Kingdom and Poland.
However, the situation remained difficult in Spain and Italy.
- Gains in North America. In
the United States, the new Varilux
Comfort(R) New Edition and Varilux Physio(R) Enhanced(TM) lenses
were well received by independent optometrists. Sales to optical
chains were stable while demand for polarized lenses remained
strong.
- Ongoing sales growth in emerging markets in Asia. Demand continued to be robust in
India and China, as well as in the ASEAN countries where
the product mix improved. On the other hand, difficult market
conditions persisted in Japan and
Australia.
- Very sharp growth in Latin
America. In Brazil, the
strategic development of the premium and mid-range segments
generated an increase in unit sales and an improvement in the
product mix, with Crizal(R) lenses in particular making significant
gains. Growth was led by Argentina, where Essilor increased its market
share.
- Continued strong momentum for the Equipment division, which
benefited from firm demand for digital surfacing machines. The
order backlog stabilized at a high level.
- In line with forecasts, a satisfactory performance in the
Readers division, led by the success of new products.
Significant third-quarter events and other transactions
Acquisitions
In the third quarter, Essilor made five new acquisitions, of
which three in the United States,
one in the United Kingdom and one
in India.
In addition to the previously announced transactions with Gulf
States and PASCH (Nikon-Essilor), Essilor of America forged a
partnership with Reliable Optics, a Brooklyn, New York-based prescription
laboratory that generates approximately $4.3
million in revenue.
In the UK, Essilor acquired an 80% stake in Leicester Optical, a
prescription and edging laboratory based in Rothley with sales of
EUR1.8 million.
In India, Essilor acquired a
majority stake in GKB Optics Technologies, a prescription
laboratory based in New Delhi with
annual revenue of EUR0.8 million.
Since the beginning of the year, Essilor has acquired 18
companies (excluding Signet Armorlite and FGX International)
representing additional full-year revenue of approximately
EUR92 million.
On October 15, Essilor announced
an agreement with Kibbutz Shamir to acquire 50% of Shamir Optical,
an independent producer of ophthalmic lenses that reported 2009
revenue of $142 million. The
transaction, which is subject to the approval of Shamir Optical's
shareholders and various regulatory authorities, is expected to
close in mid-2011.
Cash position
Between July and September, Essilor purchased 1.63 million of
its own shares on the market, at a total cost of EUR78 million. Essilor also sold its
long-standing stake in Sperian Protection to Honeywell, generating
net proceeds of EUR132 million.
Combined with these transactions, cash flow generated during the
period enabled the Company to reduce its net debt from EUR638 million at June
30 to EUR332 million at the
end of September.
Outlook
In the context of a gradual recovery in the world economy,
Essilor is continuing to diligently deploy its growth strategy,
based on new products, geographic expansion, bolt-on acquisitions
and gains in the mid-range segment. For the full year, the Company
confirms its objectives of revenue growth of 5% to 7% excluding the
currency effect and strategic acquisitions, and a stable
contribution margin excluding strategic acquisitions and changes in
IFRS.
Appendix - Quarterly revenue data
EUR millions Q3 2010 Q2 2010 Q1 2010 Q3 2009 Q2 2009 Q1 2009
TOTAL 977.0 1,020.9 905.8 805.1 823.0 840.4
Europe 339.4 362.3 345.3 324.3 335.0 330.0
North America 386.4 400.8 375.7 333.4 345.7 372.5
Asia-Pacific 119.4 111.2 103.1 89.6 84.4 85.7
Latin America 52.8 48.8 39.9 35.6 32.5 27.8
Equipment 31.5 36.6 23.6 22.1 25.4 24.4
Readers 47.5 61.4 18.3 - - -
A conference call in French will be held today at 9:00 a.m. CEST.
The number to dial is: +33(0)1-70-99-42-67
The conference will be available for later listening at:
http://hosting.3sens.com/Essilor/20101022-B74506B5/fr/
A conference call in English will follow at 10:00 a.m. CEST.
The number to dial is: +44(0)20-7138-0845
The conference will be available for later listening at:
http://hosting.3sens.com/Essilor/20101022-B74506B5/en/
------------------------
The world leader in ophthalmic optical products, Essilor
International researches, develops, manufactures and markets around
the world a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight.
Its flagship brands are Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Essilor(R),
Definity(R) and Xperio(TM).
Based in France, the Company
reported consolidated revenue of more than EUR3.2 billion in 2009, with 34,700 employees and
operations in 100 countries.
For more information, please visit http://www.essilor.com.
Investor Relations and Financial Communications
Veronique Gillet - Sebastien Leroy
Phone: +33(0)1-49-77-42-16
