EssilorLuxottica’s revenue dropped by 1.2% in 2018, from £13,965m in 2017 to £13,804m. However, total revenue grew by 3.2% in 2018 when reported at constant exchange rates.
Essilor reported growth in all of its operating segments, with its equipment having a reported change of +5.3% (+9.1% at constant rates).
Executive vice chairman of EssilorLuxottica, Hubert Sagnières, said Essilor ‘delivered strong business growth at all its divisions in 2018 and surpassed its growth targets for the year’.
Executive chairman of EssilorLuxottica, Leonardo Del Vecchio, said: ‘The contribution of Luxottica is significant: net sales, profitability and free cash flow all show positive growth, excluding the exchange rate effect.’
Meanwhile, the contest to lead the recently-merged company has intensified as its French and Italian branches have put forward their own preferred candidate for the role.
Francesco Milleri, CEO of Luxottica Italy, has been backed by Leonardo Del Vecchio, the 83-year-old chairman of EssilorLuxottica and its largest shareholder. Essilor, however, resisted this and it is speculated that it wants Laurent Vacherot, its current CEO, to fill the role. Sagnières name has also been mentioned.
Despite this, the company’s future is bright – it had combined revenues of around £13bn and operated in more than 150 countries last year.
In 2019, the Group is hoping to achieve sales growth of 3.5-5%, with a net profit growth of between 1-1.5 times sales.