Latest Headlines – Page 150
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Sporting Activities Can Be Affected By Poor Vision
In a survey of 1,000 British adults with glasses or contact lenses, one in six said they didn't participate in sports because they can't see well enough, or wearing their corrective means was too inconvenient. Every respondent acknowledged that their eyesight compromised their performance somehow. Ultralase conducted the study, pointing ...
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Essilor Elevates Sagnieres In Reporting A Remarkable First Half
Essilor International will split the roles of chairman and chief executive as of next Jan. 1, a decision made at its board's meeting on Aug. 26. The role of CEO will go to Hubert Sagnières, who has been acting as the company's chief operating officer for the past year, while ...
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Italian Politicians Antagonize The Big Eyewear Firms Over New Origin Labels
The major Italian eyewear companies and those belonging to some other industrial sectors are up in arms against recent legislation, voted by the Italian Parliament at the end of July, that makes it mandatory for Italian brand owners to place a label with the country of origin on any of ...
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Safilo Resumes Its Search For A Partner, Readies Disposals
After having said in August that it had put an end to a search for a financial partner due to the absence of offers, Safilo has recovered its senses and mandated its chief executive Roberto Vedovotto to find a financial or industrial partner ready to recapitalize the ailing company. Safilo ...
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Big Drops At Marcolin
Marcolin suffered a 7.2 percent drop in revenues to €100 million in the first half of 2009, down by 9.5 percent at constant exchange rates. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) were €11 million, a 32.1 percent drop from the same period last year. The Ebitda margin thus ...
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Hal Holding Is Down Slightly For Half
Pearle Europe and the other optical retail companies that belong to HAL Holding raised their combined revenues for the first half of 2009 by 3.3 percent to €1,002 million, €46 million of it from acquisitions. An additional boost came from new stores. However, currency effects hurt the top line by ...
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Fielmann Sees Margins Whittle Down
Fielmann reported a 2.3 percent increase in consolidated sales to €238.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, as compared to the same quarter a year ago. Germany's largest optical retailer had reported a 3.2 percent increase for the first quarter, but company officials noted that, because of the ...
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Specsavers Sees Growth Worldwide
Specsavers has reported a 17.6 percent increase in its annual turnover for its financial year ended Feb. 28. However, in its annual report, published at the end of July, the group said that its total turnover for 2008-09 was up by 15.7 percent to £1.2 billion (€1.4bn-$2.0bn). The annual report ...
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Business Is Stable For Green Vision
Green Vision closed 2008 with a sell-in of around €70 million, more or less flat year on year. Green Vision is the trading name of Consorzio Ottico Italiano, a cooperative of 300 opticians with a total of 540 outlets throughout Italy, operating mainly in the centre and south of the ...
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Shamir Improves Margins
Revenues at Shamir Optical Industry decreased by 5.1 percent to $35.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, largely because of currency effects. The gross profit margin fell by 0.5 percentage points to 53.8 percent. However, net income rose by 29.1 percent to $3.9 million. Operating income ...
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Cvi Closes U.S. Plant, Stays Ahead Of The Market
About 570 jobs will be lost as CooperVision (CVI) closes its contact lens manufacturing facility in Norfolk, Virginia, over the next 15 months. The plant makes about 7 percent of the company's total contact lenses, but is being phased out because of «increased manufacturing efficiencies.» Production of contact lenses will ...
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Sunglass Sector In Trouble, Major Players Focus On Prescription Eyewear
During one of the round tables organized at the Vision Business Forum held in Rome on Sept. 6 and 7, Cirillo Marcolin, vice chairman of Anfao and also of Marcolin, announced that the major Italian eyewear firms are starting to move their strategic focus from sun eyewear to prescription glasses. ...
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Vision Revenues Drop By 2.6% In The Usa
The U.S. vision care market suffered a 2.6 percent drop in revenues to $32.7 billion for the 12 months ended last June, according to «Consumer Barometer,» the periodic study conducted by Jobson Optical Research and The Vision Council. Sales of frames were nearly flat, falling by just 0.4 percent. They ...
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Indo Refinances, Strikes A Deal With Hoya
Indo Internacional has signed a wide-ranging strategic alliance with Hoya Vision Care in the areas of technology transfers and sourcing, opening the way for some possible cooperation in research and development as well as in the penetration of some foreign markets. The agreement will remain in effect until 2015, with ...
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Equity Funds Hesitate To Recapitalize Safilo
Safilo has put an end to its search for a financial partner to recapitalize the ailing company after Bain Capital and other private equity funds involved in a ?beauty contest? pulled out. After the summer break, the company will resume talks with the banks to restructure and reschedule its debt, ...
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Safilo Posts A Big Net Loss, Sales Decline In All Segments
Safilo continues to suffer from a difficult business environment, with sales down by 11.8 percent year-on-year to €274.2 million in the second quarter. At constant currency rates, the drop reached 15.7 percent. By product, sunglass revenues fell by 13.5 percent to €158.4 million, prescription frames were down by 7.2 ...
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Good Increases Seen At Fgx
The American company FGX International looks well-poised for a potential merger with Safilo, judging from its newly released financial results. The company reported a 12 percent increase in turnover to $75.1 million for the second quarter ended July 4. Net income from continuing operations rose by 54 percent to $6.1 ...
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Luxottica Sharply Improves Its Balance Sheet
In an Italian remake of Charles Dickens' «Tale of Two Cities,» Luxottica is proving itself a safe haven in troubled times while its peer and rival Safilo plunges further into difficulty and uncertainty. Despite a decline in profitability, Luxottica generated an impressive free cash flow of €260 million in ...
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Essilor Posts Slighly Lower Comparable Sales
Replacing the retired Philippe Alfroid in the company's quarterly conference call with financial analysts for the first time, the company's new deputy chief executive, Hubert Sagnières, predicted that Essilor will be able to report a stable operating margin for the first half of 2009 at the end of this month, ...
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Several Deals Expand Essilor's Reach
Essilor further pursued its external growth strategy through a number of recent transactions in Europe, North America and the Middle East, and many others are in the pipeline. Essilor has acquired all outstanding shares in De Ceunynck, a major player in the Belgian market where the company is BBGR's ...
