Shares in lens manufacturer Shamir Optical Industry dropped on Monday with the release of flat second-quarter net profits at $2.1m, blamed on lower than expected sales in the UK and the US.
The unaudited figures showed a sales rise to $20.2m for the second quarter, up 11.2 per cent compared to revenues of $18.2m for the period in 2004. Operating income was $3.1m, a decrease of 14.9 per cent on the $3.7m of the second quarter of 2004.
Commenting on the figures, Giora Ben-Zeev, chief executive, said: 'While our results for the quarter improved year-over-year, during the quarter Altra UK (previously Cambridge Optical) experienced certain integration issues which caused lower than expected sales penetration and operational losses. We have addressed these issues, including the hiring of new sales people.
'In the US, some of our customers, third-party manufacturers, purchased fewer Shamir products than expected. We believe this development is a short-term situation.'
He added that the market potential for progressive lenses remained strong.
Shamir bought Cambridge Optical in September 2004 with the expectation that the UK group would benefit from the global company's resources and expertise. The British company exhibited at Optrafair in April under its new name of Altra UK.
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