EssilorLuxottica Shares Leap After 1Q North America Demand Held Firm

By Joshua Kirby

Shares in Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica SA gained ground Friday after the group posted first-quarter sales showing resilient demand for its products in North America and a boost from China's reopening postpandemic.

At 0730 GMT, shares traded up 5.3% at EUR184.80.

The Franco-Italian eyewear giant made sales of 6.15 billion euros ($6.75 billion) in the first three months of the year, 8.6% higher than in the same period the previous year, adjusted for currency effects. Sales growth was highest in developing markets in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, at 12%. But arguably more notable was the 7% growth in North America, an acceleration from the previous quarter.

"North America is particularly reassuring, considering the muted mass-market environment," analysts at Bernstein said in a note following the print.

And the group, which also licenses eyewear from luxury brands like Chanel, Prada and Burberry, can look forward to further sales impetus from the integration of recently-acquired Dutch retailer GrandVision, Citi analysts said in their own note.

"We increasingly see upside risks to our more cautious view on near-term growth given the strong execution year-to-date," Citi said.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2023 04:10 ET (08:10 GMT)

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