CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France--Essilor (www.essilor.com) posted consolidated revenue of 1,361.8 million euro for the six months ended June 30, 2006. On a like-for-like basis, this represents a gain of 8.7 percent over Essilor’s first half of 2005 revenue.

Citing the “generally buoyant environment for the ophthalmic lens industry,” Essilor said it enjoyed sustained demand for its high value-added lenses and its new products, led by Varilux Physio, a new progressive lens which was introduced worldwide during the first six months of ’06.

Essilor reported strong organic growth throughout the period, with revenue up by 11.5 percent like-for-like in the first quarter and by 6.1 percent in the second quarter.

Changes in the scope of consolidation boosted reported revenue by 3.7 percent, reflecting the contributions of the businesses acquired in 2005 as well as of the first acquisitions made in 2006, which included several prescription lens laboratories in the U.S. and stakes in India’s GKB Group and in the Taiwan-based Polylite Group.

The currency effect remained positive, at 2.7 percent, however, the impact was significantly lower than in first-half 2005 due to the strengthening of the euro against the U.S. dollar and the company’s other main currencies.

In Europe, first-half revenue climbed to 606.3 million euro, up 6.2 percent from year ago. After a strong first quarter, Essilor said its growth in Europe slowed to 2.9 percent like-for-like in the second quarter compared with 7.5 percent in the same period of 2005. The company’s first-half revenue for North America totaled 595.4 million euro, up 10.8 percent like-for-like versus the same period in 2005. Growth remained strong across all networks, with revenue up 9.3 percent like-for-like in the second quarter, according to Essilor.

In the Asia-Pacific region, revenue grew to 116.9 million euro, up 13.3 percent like-for-like. In Latin America, revenue reached 43.2 million euro, up 5.8 percent like-for-like.