Luxottica sales boost

Luxury eyewear firm Luxottica has reported a 28 per cent jump in sales for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30 2007.

The company said the double-digit increase was mainly due to strong wholesale demand for glasses and sunglasses including Ray-Ban and its leading fashion brands such as Prada, Versace, Bvlgari and Chanel.

The Milan-based company reported that earnings rose to €154.6m during the second quarter compared with €121.2m a year earlier.

Revenue rose to €1.33bn from €1.23bn the year before. In the past 12 months, the company has accelerated its retail business programme.

Luxottica chief executive officer, Andrea Guerra, said the group was now in the position to raise the forecast for its consolidated earnings per share of between 26 per cent and 29 per cent for the coming 12 months. The previous forecast had been between 16 per cent and 18 per cent.