by Pauline Foret and Alban Kacher

(Reuters) -Essilor Luxottica reported on Thursday a lower than expected increase in its turnover, weighed down by the macroeconomic slowdown in China and the lack of recovery in the American market.

In the third quarter, the manufacturer of Ray-Ban glasses recorded a turnover of 6.44 billion euros, an increase of 4% year-on-year at constant exchange rates.

Visible Alpha analysts expected an increase in turnover at constant exchange rates of 5.9% over one year to 6.58 billion euros, according to Dow Jones.

“In China, we have a slightly positive situation in the third quarter in terms of revenue growth. But clearly, this is a deceleration compared to what we saw in the previous quarter,” said the financial director of the Franco-Italian group, Stefano Grassi, during a call with analysts.

The group’s performance in Asia was dragged down by weakening demand in Greater China, caused by the macroeconomic slowdown, as well as a decline in tourism in Hong Kong.

Until then, EssilorLuxottica had demonstrated a certain resilience to the difficulties encountered by the rest of the European luxury sector in China, to the point of being considered as a sort of “safe haven”.

While luxury stocks fell on the stock market on Wednesday after the publication, the day before, of results considered disappointing by LVMH, the title of the sunglasses manufacturer had held up well.

The results for this quarter nevertheless seem to indicate that Essilor Luxottica was caught up by Chinese economic conditions, with the Asia-Pacific region recording growth of only 5% on a like-for-like basis in the third quarter, compared to 9%. 8% in the previous quarter.

Stefano Grassi, however, said that the group expects growth to accelerate in the fourth quarter, both organically and with the effects of the acquisitions of Supreme and Heidelberg.

SOLID RAY-BAN META SALES

Ray-Ban smart glasses, produced in collaboration with Meta, continue to show strong performance in both North America and Europe: “In 60% of Ray-Ban stores, Ray-Ban Meta is what is selling the best,” said Stefano Grassi.

The group has also confirmed its outlook for the period 2022-2026, namely annual growth in turnover of around 5% and adjusted operating profit of around 19 to 20% of turnover. business by the end of this period.

(Written by Pauline Foret, with Alban Kacher, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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