PADOVA, Italy—Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Sàfilo Group S.p.A (SFL.MI) told financial analysts today that since the termination of discussions with potential financial partners to restructure the company, “We have received a strong message of support from our lenders and are working closely with them to finalize a proposal.” He said Sàfilo “has not started any discussion with industy partners. We’ve never received any signal of interest from industry partners but would be open to have discussion with serious, interested parties if they come along with serious binding offers.”

Questioned about a timetable, in comments following the posting of the company’s second quarter financial results, Vedovotto said, “Believe it or not, we do not have the need, given the messages we’ve received from our banks, to find an investor at all costs. In the interest of all shareholders, if we received a serious binding offer we’ll quickly examine it and come to a conclusion. This is a company that has very solid assets.”

Asked about the potential of selling some of Sàfilo’s retail businesses (which include 327 stores worldwide, including the Solstice Sunglass specialty chain in the U.S. and other countries), Vedovotto said, “As much as I believe in Solstice as an important way of communicating our brands and image, I’m not so sure about having 50 stores in Australia, 50 in Mexico, 60 in Spain...” Commenting on other potential “hidden” assets of the company, Vedovotto said, “In the broadest terms, we have a lot of real estate, good retail networks and a good brand and company, called Smith.”

Sàfilo reported a loss of €136 million in the first six months of the year, and reported that first half sales declined 11.7 percent to €562.1 million, compared to €637 million in the prior year period.

The company’s second quarter revenues declined 11.8 percent to €274.2 million. Its net loss in Q2 was €137.7 million compared to earnings of €7.9 million in the prior year period.

The company also noted that its results of the second quarter and the first half of 2009 have been impacted by non-recurring items for a total of €128.1 million, relating to the group’s industrial reorganization and to the write-down of goodwill related to single cash generating units.

“In line with our expectations, the second quarter of 2009 confirmed the end consumer’s move toward more ‘accessible’ products,” stated Vedovotto.

Citing continued “challenging” market conditions and the contraction of sales in the high-end sunglasses segment, which persisted in the second quarter of 2009, the company said that sales of prescription frames, despite registering a contraction, proved “to be less sensitive to the continuation of the global economic crisis.” The collections of the house brand Carrera continued to be strong, experiencing double-digit gains.

Vedovotto noted the U.S. market, given its greater exposure to prescription products and to a product mix capable of reaching a wider consumer base, remained stable, with Q2 sales relatively flat to last year, citing strength of prescription frames among opticians, despite a difficult department store and retail environment.

In the first half of 2009 the wholesale turnover reached €507.7 million, compared to the €584.0 million of the first half of 2008, highlighting a contraction in the channel of 13.1 percent at current exchange rates.

The retail business, which at the end of June 2009 counted 327 directly-operated stores (283 stores in June 2008), recorded, in the first half 2009, a growth of 2.6 percent at current exchange rates and, in Q2, growth of 2.1 percent.

Sàfilo Group’s net financial position, defined as the sum of bank borrowings and short, medium and long-term loans, net of cash on hand, at the end of June 2009 is €592.1 million, a slight improvement compared to the €617.7 million registered at the end of March 2009.