Pre-tax profits falling despite sales growth

The report, entitled The Optical Industry points out that the financial period of 1995/96 to 1997/98 has seen a growth in sales at a slowing rate, with profitability on a steady decline. The report analyses the performance trends of the last three full financial years from 125 companies, taking in optical groups, manufacturing opticians, wholesalers and importers and the contact lens industry. Pre-tax profit margins were reported as falling from 10.6 per cent in 1995/96 to 8.1 per cent in 1997/98. Return on investment, relating profits to total investment, dropped from 25.7 per cent in 1995/96 to 19 per cent in 1997/98, and return on assets fell year-on-year from 16.7 per cent in 1995/96 to 13.4 per cent in 1997/98. The report stated that the top three most profitable companies by pre-tax profit margin were practice groups. It claimed that average pay per employee for the optical industry as a whole was &\#163;14,916 and that the average sales per employee for the total industry was &\#163;61,000. The top-performing company in the latter sector was Luxottica UK. - The annual 400-page report costs &\#163;249 from Schober Direct Marketing. , formerly ICC Business Publications.