Essilor growth continues apace

Essilor, the world largest lens manufacturer, has announced consolidated sales of €2.42bn for 2005, representing a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.

The news comes as little surprise given the number of companies the French company - linked with CIBA Vision earlier this year - has acquired around the world, but the contribution from new division only accounted for one third of the growth in sales.

Like-for-like sales rose 5.2 per cent, while exchange rates provided a positive effect of 1.5 per cent on reported sales.

In Europe, like-for-like sales rose 2.3 per cent, but it was emerging markets where Essilor recorded its best figures. Reported sales in Latin America increased 41.7 per cent, while Asia-Pacific saw sales rise 16.6 per cent.